The Steppe and Other Stories

The first of Chekhov''s works to be published in a serious literary journal, `The Steppe'', with its masterly account of a spectacular thunderstorm, signifies his maturation as a writer of short stories. While the majority of his tales focus on the privileged classes, this selection shows that Chekhov never forgot his origins as the son of a failed provincial grocer, and characters as varied as the brutal soldier in `Gusev'', the downtrodden old constable in `On Official Business'', and the bemused peasants in `New Villa'' testify to the power and flexibility of his art.