Chekhov Becomes Chekhov

A revelatory portrait of Chekhov during the most extraordinary artistic surge of his life.
In 1886, a twenty-six-year-old Anton Chekhov was publishing short stories, humor pieces, and articles at an astonishing rate, and was still a practicing physician. Yet as he honed his craft and continued to draw inspiration from the vivid characters in his own life, he found himself—to his surprise and ocassional embarassment—admired by a growing legion of fans, including Tolstoy himself.
He had not yet succumbed to the ravages of tuberculosis. He was a lively, frank, and funny correspondant and a dedicated mentor. And as Bob Blaisdelldiscovers, his vivid articles, stories, and plays from this period—when read in conjunction with his correspondence—become a psychological and emotional secret diary.
When Chekhov struggled with his increasingly fraught engagement, young couples are continually making their raucous way in and out of...