Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (Illustrated)

By Anton Chekhov

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Uncle Vanya’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Anton Chekhov’.

Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Chekhov includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

eBook features:
* The complete unabridged text of ‘Uncle Vanya’
* Beautifully illustrated with images related to Chekhov’s works
* Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook
* Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Jul 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781786569530

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.

Book preview

The Complete Works of

ANTON CHEKHOV

VOLUME 12 OF 24

Uncle Vanya

Parts Edition

By Delphi Classics, 2014

Version 6

COPYRIGHT

‘Uncle Vanya’

Anton Chekhov: Parts Edition (in 24 parts)

First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.

© Delphi Classics, 2017.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 78656 953 0

Delphi Classics

is an imprint of

Delphi Publishing Ltd

Hastings, East Sussex

United Kingdom

Contact: [e-mail]

www.delphiclassics.com

Anton Chekhov: Parts Edition

This eBook is Part 12 of the Delphi Classics edition of Anton Chekhov in 24 Parts. It features the unabridged text of Uncle Vanya from the bestselling edition of the author’s Complete Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of Anton Chekhov, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of Anton Chekhov or the Complete Works of Anton Chekhov in a single eBook.

Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here.

ANTON CHEKHOV

IN 24 VOLUMES

Parts Edition Contents

The Plays

1, Platonov

2, On the High Road

3, On the Harmfulness of Tobacco

4, Swansong

5, Ivanoff

6, The Bear

7, The Proposal

8, A Reluctant Hero

9, The Wedding

10, The Wood Demon

11, The Anniversary

12, Uncle Vanya

13, The Three Sisters

14, The Cherry Orchard

The Novel

15, The Shooting Party

The Short Stories

16, The Complete Short Stories

The Novellas

17, The Steppe

18, The Duel

19, An Anonymous Story

20, Three Years

21, My Life

The Non-Fiction

22, Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends

23, Note-Book of Anton Chekhov

The Biography

24, Biographical Sketch of Anton Chekhov by Constance Garnett

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Uncle Vanya

A reworking of the earlier drama The Wood Demon, this famous play was first published in 1897. Uncle Vanya concerns the visit of an elderly Professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Elena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends, Vanya, the brother of the Professor’s late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local Doctor, both fall under Elena’s spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the Professor’s daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, meanwhile suffers from the awareness of her own lack of beauty and from her unrequited feelings for Dr. Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the Professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya’s home and raison d’être, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife. The play is thematically concerned with frustrated hopes and the concept of the wasted life. All of the characters are unhappy, sharing parallels with other Chekhov plays.

Although the play initially had small runs in provincial theatres in 1898, its metropolitan première took place on 7 November [1899 at the Moscow Art Theatre. Constantin Stanislavski played the role of Astrov, while Chekhov’s future wife Olga Knipper played Yelena. The initial reviews were favourable yet pointed to defects in both the plot and the acting. As the staging and the acting improved over successive performances, however, and as the public understood better its inner meaning and nuances of feeling, the reviews improved. Uncle Vanya has since became a permanent fixture in the Moscow Art Theatre.

Chekhov, close to the time of the play’s first performance

CONTENTS

CHARACTERS

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

ACT IV

Konstantin Stanislavski as Astrov in the Moscow Art Theatre production in 1899

A scene from Act I, Moscow Art Theatre, 1899

CHARACTERS

ALEXANDER SEREBRAKOFF, a retired professor

HELENA, his wife, twenty-seven years old

SONIA, his daughter by a former marriage

MME. VOITSKAYA, widow of a privy councilor, and mother of Serebrakoff’s first wife

IVAN (VANYA) VOITSKI, her son

MICHAEL ASTROFF, a doctor

ILIA (WAFFLES) TELEGIN, an impoverished landowner

MARINA, an old nurse

A WORKMAN

The scene is laid on SEREBRAKOFF’S country place

ACT I

A country house on a terrace. In front of it a garden. In an avenue of trees, under an old poplar, stands a table set for tea, with a samovar, etc. Some benches and chairs stand near the table. On one of them is lying a guitar. A hammock is swung near the table. It is three o’clock in the afternoon of a cloudy day.

MARINA, a quiet, grey-haired, little old woman, is sitting at the table knitting a stocking.

ASTROFF is walking up and down near her.

MARINA. [Pouring some tea into a