The Greatest Russian Stories of Crime and Suspense

By Anton Chekhov, Vladimir Nabokov, Nikolai Gogol and 11 more

The first anthology ever devoted entirely to Russian crime fiction—including works by Acunin, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Nabokov, Pushkin, and Tolstoy Many of the greatest Russian authors, including Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Pushkin, produced crime and mystery fiction, a type of literature that was largely suppressed during the Soviet era because it did not glorify the state but, instead, gave individuals the significance that the U.S.S.R. despised. With the fall of the Soviet Union, mystery writers have become some of the most successful novelists in Russia, and there is a renewed interest in the great crime classics of an earlier era. Nonetheless, the enormous talent and passion of Russian authors has long been justly acclaimed, and the rare forays they made into the genre rank among the world’s classics. This volume is the first collection ever devoted entirely to Russian crime fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Release date: Jun 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781453249277

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.