The Darling and Other Stories: The Tales of Chekhov I

A factory heiress spends Christmas weighing her wealth against the loneliness it bought her. A short, sharp study of class and the chances people let pass.

Anton Chekhov

Contains what many readers consider his finest story, an affair at a seaside resort that refuses to stay a holiday romance.

Anton Chekhov

Opens with the famous wager between a banker and a lawyer over fifteen years of solitary confinement. The rest of the collection keeps the same interest in what people trade away.

Anton Chekhov

Stories built around the ordinary confusions of affection, from a man dissecting his own love letter to quieter domestic portraits. A good entry point for new readers.

Anton Chekhov

A landowner and his estranged wife clash over famine relief while their marriage quietly collapses. The longer pieces here give the characters room to turn.

Anton Chekhov