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Audiobook edition · 13 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a writer reveal when he writes home instead of writing for the stage?
In Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends, the Russian doctor, story writer and playwright speaks to the people in his life. He teases his brothers, writes to his mother and sister, and exchanges letters with editors, fellow writers and his wife, the actress Olga Knipper. His voice is funny, honest and practical.
These letters follow work, travel, theatre and illness rather than a single plot. Chekhov offers firm advice on manuscripts, describes mud and cold on his journey across Siberia to Sakhalin, and writes from his years in Yalta. Alongside the troubles of poor health and the stage, you meet a man thinking carefully about art, work and honesty.
What you’ll discover
- The brother behind the writer Meet Chekhov through teasing, family exchanges and the plain warmth of letters home.
- Advice without fuss Watch him answer Alexander and younger writers with kindness, firm judgment and practical attention.
- Across Siberia to Sakhalin Follow his accounts of rough roads, bad inns, cold and the travellers he meets.
- Theatre and Olga Knipper Explore the pain and success of his plays alongside letters to his actress wife.
- Humour amid poor health Hear him joke about illness while continuing to weigh questions of writing and work.
Who will love it
Readers who love real voices, travel stories, theater gossip and writers at work will enjoy these letters, as will anyone curious about the daily life behind famous stories and plays.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A schoolboy teaches dignity and good reading
- A young man learns to take his gift seriously
- Culture means kindness, honesty and constant work
- A writer should describe, not judge
- The stage tests him at Ivanov
- Southern journeys feed his eye for detail
- The road to Sakhalin crosses Siberia in mud and flood
- Sakhalin leaves him changed and thoughtful
- Europe, a country estate, and a famine and cholera
- Illness, the theater, and a last warm home
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Lettres de Tchekhov à sa famille et à ses amis
Chekhov crosses flooded Siberia by horse and writes home about food, mud and his exhausting journey.
Medium level10–20 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
What does a great writer sound like when nobody is watching? Anton Chekhov reports to Suvorin that his mongoose breaks crockery, and he describes a night beside the flooded Irtysh when the river sounds like a coffin being nailed shut underwater.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A schoolboy teaches dignity and good reading
The earliest letters show a boy in Taganrog who already sounds like a teacher. In 1876 he scolds his younger brother Misha for signing off as a worthless and insignificant brother. Be humble before God and in the presence of beauty, he says, but among people keep your dignity.
He also hands out reading advice. He praises Don Quixote and Turgenev, and admits that one novel left him with the queasy feeling of someone who has eaten too many raisins.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 8 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/letters-of-anton-chekhov-to-his-family-and-friends.
Chekhov, A. P. (2026). Letters of Anton Chekhov to his family and friends. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/letters-of-anton-chekhov-to-his-family-and-friends
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/letters-of-anton-chekhov-to-his-family-and-friends.
@book{chekhov2026letters,
author = {Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich},
title = {Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/letters-of-anton-chekhov-to-his-family-and-friends}
}
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What are the Letters of Anton Chekhov about?
They are letters written between 1876 and 1904 to family, editors, fellow writers and actors. They cover his daily life, money worries, medical work, ideas about writing, his trip to Sakhalin, European travel, country life and the theater.
Why did Chekhov go to Sakhalin?
He wanted to see a place of suffering that Russia ignored. In his letters he says he hopes to write something useful for medical science and to understand colonization by convicts. He crossed Siberia and took a full census of the island.
What does Chekhov say about how a writer should write?
He says a writer should be objective, like a chemist, showing characters, speech and circumstances without preaching. The reader serves as jury. He also advises restraint, short descriptions of nature, and detachment when portraying sad people.
The author
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
1860–1904 · Russian playwright and story writer
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian writer and physician. He was born in Taganrog and lived in Moscow and later Yalta. He wrote short stories and plays, including The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1897), and The Cherry Orchard (1904). He died in Badenweiler, Germany.
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