Chekhov : the hidden ground : a biography / by Philip Callow

London : Constable, 1998. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; xiv, 428p., [8]p. of plates : ill., facism., ports. ; 25cm. Notes; Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary; A biography of the writer Chekhov in the context of the evolution of his art. Review: Among a number of competitors this is the best biography available of an extraordinary writer whose first work was published when he was a medical student; who taught himself the art of the short story ('the art of writing is the art of abbreviation') and went on to write four great plays that made him famous throughout the world. Just as his work shows us a world in which comedy and tragedy are revealed through commonplaces, so Callow shows us a man never commonplace, who doggedly fought ill health, and whose last act was to drink a glass of champagne. A life of similar dramatic contrasts is described in clear, lucid prose. (Kirkus UK) Subjects; Chekhov, A. P. (Anton Pavlovich) 1860-1904. Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich 1860-1904 � Studies. Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich 1860-1904 � Biography. Authors, Russian � 19th century � Biography. Plays & playwrights ; Literary studies: 19th century. Russian. BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General. LITERARY CRITICISM / Drama. LITERARY CRITICISM / Russian & Former Soviet Union. LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Eastern. LITERARY CRITICISM / General. Dramatists, Russian ; 19th century ; Biography. Chekhov. Genre; Biography.