At Christmas Time

By Anton Chekhov

Told in two parts, Anton Chekhov’s "At Christmas Time" begins with an illiterate woman hiring a local man to write a letter wishing her daughter—from who she has heard nothing since her wedding and departure four years earlier—a merry Christmas. In the second part, the letter arrives for the daughter, whose life is not what she imagined it would be. While not a traditional story of Christmas cheer, Chekhov’s "At Christmas Time" has captivated audiences since its publication in 1900 and is recognized today as a Christmas classic.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781443424769

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.