The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904

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Anton Chekhov’s fictional output in the last period of his life was relatively small, for several reasons. Most of his creative energy went into writing his four great plays, discussing them with directors of the Moscow Art Theatre, participating in some of the rehearsals, and, incidentally, marrying one of the actresses. Much of his time was also taken up by selecting and revising his earlier stories for a collected edition for which he had signed a contract with a publisher. Living mostly on his estate, Melikhovo, he was heavily involved with the life of the surrounding villages, building schools, restoring a church, and, as a doctor, receiving an endless stream of the impoverished sick, whom he treated free of charge. These experiences are reflected in the stories he wrote about peasant life. His own advancing tuberculosis forced him, in 1898–9, to sell his estate and move to the warmer climate of Yalta, where he stayed, off and on, until his last trip to Germany in June 1904. Although the number of stories he wrote in this period is relatively small, those he did write are among his great masterpieces.

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