The Best Russian Short Stories

Written by Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky

Narrated by Cathy Dobson

A brilliant collection of short stories by some of Russia's best writers.
1. Twenty-Six Men and a Girl by Maxim Gorky
2. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
3. The Honest Thief by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
4. The Long Exile by Count Leo Tolstoy
5. The Self-Sacrificing Rabbit by Nicolai Schedrin
6. Comrades by Maxim Gorky
7. A Candle by Count Leo Tolstoy
8. The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
9. The Encased Man by Anton Chekhov
10. The Pistol Shot by Alexander Pushkin
11. The Chorus Girl by Anton Chekhov
12. The Old Verger by Vladimir Korolenko
13. The Three Hermits by Count Leo Tolstoy
14. The Ghost of the Engineers’ Castle by Nikolai Leskov

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Door Consulting
• Release date: Jun 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781467681759

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.

Reviews for The Best Russian Short Stories

[Janet Chittock · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I’d have continued listening had it not been for the narrator’s very unusual style. I prefer to have someone read a book in a more natural way. This seemed very forced and mechanical, with no softness or change in style.