Traces the friendship, courtship, and marriage of the Russian playwright and actress, detailing Chekhov's battle with tuberculosis and the couple's respective careers
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian
A moving and intimate epistolary record of the complex relationship between the great Russian playwright and the actress who eventually became his wife. Chekhov (18601904) already had an advanced case of tuberculosis when he met Knipper (18681959) in the fall of 1898. She was rehearsing the role of Arkadina in his revised version of The Seagull for the newly formed Moscow Art Theatre; the production's success--and her personal triumph in it--meant that she spent the theater season in Moscow while he, under doctor's orders, spent the long Russian winter in the warmer climate of Yalta. These separations, which continued after their marriage in 1901, made letters their primary form of communication for months at a time. The couple's very different personalities stand in sharp relief: Knipper's lively epistles, which feature evocative descriptions of the Russian landscape and some astute analysis of her lover's personality, reveal an affectionate, frank, impulsive woman who wrote what she thought and frequently expressed frustration with Chekhov's elusiveness. The playwright's missives are witty, charming, and infuriatingly oblique about his feelings, although his post-wedding correspondence is noticeably warmer. Benedetti (Stanislavski, 1988) has edited the letters to focus on the pair's personal relationship; frequent ellipses suggest that a good deal of information about Moscow Art Theatre rehearsals and internal politics has been omitted, possibly to avoid overlap with The Moscow Art Theatre Letters, which he also edited. Interesting though the couple's emotional ups and downs are, more material on their shared professional life--he wrote Masha in Three Sisters and Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard for her--would have made this even better. Nonetheless, this correspondence gives us wonderfully vivid self-portraits of two important Russian artists and a poignant chronicle of love struggling against the handicap of distance and the ravages of terminal illness. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.15. Seller Inventory # G0880015500I5N01
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported. Seller Inventory # 0880015500-8-1
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Miranda Books, Easthampton, MA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Like New. First Edition. FIRST edition, first printing. Near fine in near fine DJ. Unmarked. Not price clipped, not remainder marked, not ex-library. Seller Inventory # 2407310010
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Glands of Destiny First Edition Books, Sedro Woolley, WA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Like New. Publisher: ECCO Press, Hopewell, NJ., 1997. First Edition, First Printing. FINE hardcover book in FINE dust-jacket. PRISTINE. As New. Unread. NOT marked. NOT price-clipped. NOT remainder marked. NOT faded. NOT a book club edition. NOT an ex-library copy. All of our books with dust-jackets are shipped in fresh, archival-safe mylar protective sleeves. Seller Inventory # SKU1014513
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Like New. First Edition. First edition, first printing. Brand new gift quality hardcover in jacket Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal. Seller Inventory # 120750
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Book is in Used-Good condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. 1.1. Seller Inventory # 0880015500-2-4
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 1.1. Seller Inventory # 0880015500-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think_very_0880015500
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books of the Smoky Mountains, Del Rio, TN, U.S.A.
Condition: very good. Gently used book with ongoing seller support until you're fully satisfied with your purchase. Seller Inventory # oldport0880015500
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenWavesOfBooks, Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0880015500
Quantity: 1 available