Ivanov

by Anton Chekhov, Mint Editions (Contribution by)

Overview

Ivanov (1889) is a drama in four acts by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Written in ten days, the play premiered in 1887 at Moscow’s Korsh Theatre and was initially a failure due to its rushed composition, production issues, and significant changes made to Chekhov’s script. Disappointed but far from discouraged, Chekhov reworked the play to his satisfaction, and the edited version premiered to rave reviews in St. Petersburg in 1889.

The play follows a man named Nikolai Ivanov and his wife Anna Petrovna. Deeply in debt, Ivanov is unable to pay for the recommended treatment for his wife’s tuberculosis, which requires an extended stay in Crimea. When Ivanov leaves his estate to visit the Lebedev’s, a wealthy socialite family to whom he is indebted, Anna and Lvov secretly follow him. There, he is seduced by the Lebedev’s daughter Sasha, who confesses her love for him and convinces Ivanov to betray his wife. Anna witnesses their act in secret, and later confronts the man for whom she gave up her religion, family, and inheritance to marry. Incensed, Ivanov reveals to her the true nature of her illness, and the reality of his depravity is revealed. As the play concludes, Lvov decides that in order to prevent Ivanov from ruining the lives of others, he must be willing to risk his own. Ivanov is a psychologically intense drama by Anton Chekhov, a master storyteller whose characters always seem to lurk at the limit of decency, and yet remain fearfully human.

This edition of Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov is a classic of Russian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513269115
Publisher:	Mint Editions
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Series:	Mint Editions (Plays)
Pages:	68
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.17(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

The director wanted 'a language that would sound, in the mouths of American actors, as fresh and vivid as the original Russian.' Schmidt succeeds. Slang and modern idiom are woven almost seamlessly into the script.

Time Out (San Francisco)

Schmidt's translation has a lean, sharp, sorrowfully funny style...

Sacramento Bee

A play often patronised as an immature melodrama, one that Chekhov himself described as "a pudding", has the quirkiness, the subtlety, the unpredictable touches of human truth we associate with the great works that followed.” —Benedict Nightingale, The Times

“...as intimate and subtly plotted as a piece of chamber music” —Rachel Halliburton, The Evening Standard

“A dazzling cabaret that brings tears to the cheek” —The Evening Standard

From the Publisher

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English."

New Yorker