Anton Chekhov remarked toward the close of his life that people would stop reading him a year after his death. But his literary stature and popularity have grown steadily with the years, and he is accounted the single most important influence on the development of the modern short story.

Edited and with an introduction by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, The Portable Chekhov presents twenty-eight of Chekhovs best stories, chosen as particularly representative of his many-sided portrayal of the human comedyincluding The Kiss, The Darling, and In the Ravineas well as two complete plays; The Boor, an example of Chekhovs earlier dramatic work, and The Cherry Orchard, his last and finest play. In addition, this volume includes a selection of letters, candidly revealing of Chekhovs impassioned convictions on life and art, his high aspirations, his marriage, and his omnipresent compassion.