CHEKHOV: SCENES FROM A LIFE

"In her new biography, published to mark the centenary of the writer Chekhov's death in July 1904, Rosamund Bartlett focuses on Chekhov's intimate relationship with the Russian landscape. Chekhov: Scenes from a Life paints a picture not only of the man, but also of the places he lived and travelled in, and her portraits of provincial Taganrog and the southern Russian steppes, Moscow, Petersburg, Siberia, the French riviera and Yalta both inform and widen our interpretation of his work." "Chekhov is held to be one of the most inscrutable and elusive writers who has ever lived. But by looking at his life through the prism of the places he knew and loved, Rosamund Bartlett shows that it is possible to gain a far greater insight into his personality than through the usual method of exploring how he reacted to the events of his life, or his interaction with contemporaries. With an eye for detail, she reveals how Chekhov's restless, adventurous spirit was obscured both by the sedentary lifestyle caused by his illness and the responsibility he felt towards his family, whom he supported financially throughout his life. Chekhov's genius emerges in all its complexity, fired by a creative tension which made him yearn to be among people, while at the same time longing for escape and solitude."--BOOK JACKET.