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Uncle Vanya

By Anton Chekhov
Series: Student Editions
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Uncle Vanya is a play by Anton Chekhov that delves into the lives of several characters residing on a rural estate. The narrative explores themes of unfulfilled desires and existential discontent as the characters grapple with their roles and relationships. Tensions arise when the owner of the estate and his young, alluring wife arrive, disrupting the routine and prompting reflections on lost dreams and the passage of time.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2199
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this play if you're interested in exploring themes of unrequited love, wasted potential, and human inertia through deeply drawn, complex characters. Its rich emotional depth and the reflection on the frustrations of rural life are engaging, providing a blend of tragic and comic elements. This work is ideal for those who appreciate a contemplative and psychological examination of human nature.

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A masterpiece of Russian drama, now in a student edition

A masterpiece of Russian drama, now in a student edition

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A masterpiece of Russian drama, now in a student edition. Along with Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya is credited as one of Chekhov's masterpieces and a significant precursor of modern drama.

Set on a country estate in late nineteenth century Russia, Uncle Vanya is in part a study of the enervation of Russian middle-class provincial life. The major dynamics between the characters themselves are centred on two obsessive love affairs that lead nowhere and a flirtation that brings disaster.

Mixing the tragic and the absurd and dealing with a form that allows for ambiguity and contradiction, Uncle Vanya has been deemed "the first modernist play". (David Lan)

"It is the element of might-have-been in Chekhov's characters that makes their sense of waste so tragic. I know of no more moving climax in world drama." - Guardian

Definitive translation by acclaimed playwright Michael Frayn. Methuen Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays. Contains the complete text of the play, the volume includes a chronology of the playwright's life and work, an introduction giving the background to the play, a discussion of various interpretations, and notes on individual words and phrases in the text.

Series: Student Editions

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya is lauded for its poignant depiction of characters' unfulfilled potential, contributing to a profound sense of tragedy. Michael Frayn's adaptation is praised for capturing the idiomatic richness and complexity of the original work, enhancing modern appreciation of Chekhov's timeless themes.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780413774712

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 August 2005

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Edition: New edition

Contributors:

  • Translated by Michael Frayn

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 198g

Pages: 176

Collections

Anton Chekhov Education & Reference Non-Fiction Series: Student Editions

About the Author

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Michael Frayn read Russian, French and Moral Sciences (Philosophy) at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He began his career as a journalist on the Manchester Guardian and the Observer. His award-winning plays include Alphabetical Order, Make and Break and Noises Off, all of which received Best Comedy of the Year awards, while Benefactors was named Best Play of the Year. Two of his more recent plays, Copenhagen and Democracy, also won numerous awards (including, for Copenhagen, the Tony in New York and the Prix Molière in Paris). In 2006 Donkeys' Years was revived in the West End thirty years after its premiere and was followed in 2007 by The Crimson Hotel, at the Donmar, and by Afterlife, at the National Theatre, in 2008. Frayn has translated Chekhov's last four plays, dramatised a selection of his one-act plays and short stories under the title The Sneeze, and adapted his first, untitled play, as Wild Honey. Frayn's novels include Towards the End of the Morning (in the USA, Against Entropy), The Trick of It, A Landing on the Sun, Headlong and Spies.

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