Title: Letters of Anton Chekhov to his family and friends
Subtitle: with biographical sketch
First published: April 1, 2005
Description: From the book:In 1841 a serf belonging to a Russian nobleman purchased his freedom and the freedom of his family for 3,500 roubles, being at the rate of 700 roubles a soul, with one daughter, Alexandra, thrown in for nothing. The grandson of this serf was Anton Chekhov, the author; the son of the nobleman was Tchertkov, the Tolstoyan and friend of Tolstoy.  There is in this nothing striking to a Russian, but to the English student it is sufficiently significant for several reasons. It illustrates how recent a growth was the educated middle-class in pre-revolutionary Russia, and it shows, what is perhaps more significant, the homogeneity of the Russian people, and their capacity for completely changing their whole way of life.
Subjects: Correspondence, Russian Authors, Classic Literature, Fiction, Chekhov, anton pavlovich, 1860-1904, Authors, russian, Authors, correspondence