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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
M
atthew Lore, my esteemed editor, for your vision, patience, friendship, and chocolate cake.
Collin Tracy and Cynthia Buck, for your rapid assessment and response.
Jeff Goebel, for never letting me forget.
Anya Yatsenko, for your erudite answers to my questions.
Peter Steinberger, for your stalwart support.
Gideon and Tanya Bosker, for your patient hospitality.
Bianca Oona Lencek Bosker, for your laughter, curiosity, and example.
Nina Antonia Hedviga Lovrencic Lencek, for being my best reader. Ever.
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WHO'S WHO IN CHEKHOV'S CORRESPONDENCE
T
he number and range of contemporaries who appear in Chekhov's correspondence, either as interlocutors or as subject matter, are staggering. This skeletal guide, in alphabetical order, is intended as the briefest of introductions to readers curious about those of Chekhov's literary and social connections who appear in this book.
Avilova, Lydia Alexandrovna (1864-1942). A writer and memoirist, Avilova was a devoted admirer of Chekhov who entertained hopes—and, it seems, delusions—of a close relationship, despite her marriage and motherhood. After the writer's death, she published an account of their friendship in which she detailed all eight of their encounters between 1889 and 1899. Chekhov himself shed no light on the matter, leaving a field ripe for speculation that continues to engage scholars.
Batyushkov, Fyodor Dmitrievich (1857-1920). A distinguished literary scholar, a founder of Russian study of
comparative literature, and editor of the Russian section of the international journal Cosmopolis.
Burenin, Viktor Petrovich (1841-1926). A critic and playwright and, for a time, an editor of New Times (Novoye Vre- mya), to which Chekhov contributed many stories. Highly reactionary and known for his cynicism and bad manners in print, Burenin nonetheless gave Chekhov's "The Steppe" a favorable review.
Chekhov, Alexander Pavlovich (1855-1913). Anton's oldest brother, who launched the family business of writing and publishing for money. A contributor to New Times, Alexander was plagued by alcoholism, common-law marriages, and a bitter disposition.
Chekhov, Mikhail Pavlovich (Misha) (1865-1936). The youngest of the Chekhov sons, Mikhail followed in his brother's footsteps by dividing his professional loyalties between the law and literature. Writing under several pseudonyms, including M. Bogemnsky, M. B-sky, M. Ch., Maksim Kholyava, and Kaptan Kuk, he was the author of stories, children's stories, plays, essays, reviews, and humorous sketches; he also published a magazine and left valuable reminiscences of his brother.
Chekhova, Maria Pavlovna (Masha) (1864-1957). Anton's only sister, Maria idolized her brother, never married, and both during and after his lifetime dedicated herself to his work. She published the first six-volume edition of her brother's letters between 1912 and 1916 and maintained his villa in Yalta as a museum.
Gilyarovsky, Vladimir Alekseyevich (1853-1935). A flamboyant adventurer, crime journalist, writer, circus performer, and friend of Chekhov's whose literary niche was the messy underbelly of Moscow life. His portrait appears among the faces of the Cossacks in Ilya Repin's monumental painting The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (1880-91).
Gorky, Maxim, pseudonym of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov (1868-1936). The originator of socialist realism, the official aesthetic of the Soviet Union. Endowed with a generous and charismatic personality, the writer, playwright, poet, critic, and literary entrepreneur did much to preserve the lives of fellow writers and the humanist values of prerevolutionary culture during the early years of the Revolution. As a young orphan, Gorky had survived by odd jobs; he became fearless and developed radical political views. His friendships with Chekhov and Tolstoy helped cement his commitment to literature and advanced his standing among his contemporaries. His perceptive and fond reminiscences of Chekhov make for excellent reading.
Grigorovich, Dmitry Vasilevich (1822—99). One of the key
literary figures of the second half of the nineteenth century, Grigorovich built his reputation chiefly on a number of short stories about peasant life he wrote in the 1840s as a member of the so-called Natural School. His most lasting contribution to literature, however, derives from his sponsorship of two of Russia's greatest writers: Fyodor Dosto- evsky, his roommate in 1844, whom he brought to the attention of the poet-publisher Nekrasov and the critic Be- linsky; and Anton Chekhov, whom, in a letter in 1886, he hailed as the most outstanding writer of the young generation. Grigorovich's encouragement has been regarded as instrumental in transforming the hack "Antosha Chekhonte" into the serious writer Anton Chekhov. Chekhov's letters to the older writer were models of filial respect, though their relations had cooled by 1889 with Grigorovich's tepid response to Chekhov's experiments in the theater.
Khotyaintseva, Alexandra Alexandrovna (1865-1942). A talented artist who struck up an acquaintance with Chekhov through his sister Masha, whose portrait she painted in Me- likhovo. Chekhov especially appreciated her sensitive renderings of the landscape and called her "a great artist of the Russian land." Khotyaintseva cherished a portfolio of caricatures dating from her sojourn in Nice, where Chekhov was seeking a cure for tuberculosis, which she called the Chekhiad.
Kiselyova, Maria Vladimirovna (1857-1923). A successful writer of children's stories, a passionate angler, and granddaughter of the eighteenth-century writer and publisher N. I. Novikov. She befriended Chekhov in the countryside in Ukraine when the Chekhov family leased a nearby villa. The Kiselyovs owned the elegant Babkino estate, where
Chekhov was a frequent and welcome guest and came into contact with a constant stream of visiting writers and musicians. Maria was the first of a number of women writers— among them Elena Shavrova and Lydia Avilova—whom he mentored. Chekhov's sister jokingly referred to the bevy of Chekhov's female admirers as the "Antonovkas," a charming play on the name of the fragrant apple cultivar beloved of dacha owners in prerevolutionary Russia.
Knipper, Olga Leonardovna (1869-1959). A member of the Moscow Art Theater, founded by V. I. Nemirovich- Danchenko and Konstantin Stanislavsky, Knipper performed in all the original productions of Chekhov's plays at the Moscow Art Theater. The author first saw her on stage in 1898, as the Empress Irina in the premiere of A. K. Tolstoy's Czar Fyodor Ioannovich. Of his first impression of the woman who would become his wife Chekhov wrote: "[She] is magnificent. Her voice, nobility, sincerity—are so fine
that they make my throat tickle If I were to stay in
Moscow, I would certainly fall in love with this Irina." They were married in 1901. The object of much envy and gossip, Olga provoked dismay by remaining in Moscow and continuing to devote herself to the theater while Chekhov was ailing, alone, in Yalta. The love letters, collected, translated, and published by Constance Garnett in 1926, attest to a passionate friendship.
Korneyev, Yakov Alekseevich (no date). A genial physician whose role in Chekhov's life was largely confined to owning the building on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya Street in Moscow where the Chekhov family resided between 1886 and 1890. The two-story apartment in which five members of the Chekhov family lived was located in a wing that resembled a small castle. Chekhov's study and bedroom were on the main floor.