100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Fast overnight NZ delivery ๐Ÿš€ Don't forget Father's Day is next weekend ๐Ÿ“…

Wild Honey

Series: Modern Plays
3.68 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 117 ratings, 16 reviews)
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
Wild Honey follows Mikhail Vasilyevich, a witty and intelligent village schoolmaster in nineteenth-century provincial Russia, who finds himself the focus of affection from four women, including his devoted wife. As summer and festivities heat up, passions and misunderstandings abound in this comedy of errors based on an early, untitled play by Anton Chekhov.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3699
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

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?

Ideal for readers interested in classic Russian literature, theatre enthusiasts, and lovers of witty, character-driven comedies set in historic settings.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Michael Frayn's comedy of errors, drawn from Chekhov's untitled and posthumously discovered early play, is a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life replete with classic misunderstandings, irrepressible desires and nostalgia for a vanishing world.

Michael Fraynโ€™s comedy of errors, drawn from Chekhovโ€™s untitled and posthumously discovered early play, is a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life replete with classic misunderstandings, irrepressible desires and nostalgia for a vanishing world.

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

Oh, Misha, it's terrible to be an educated woman. An educated woman with nothing to do. What am I here for? Why am I alive? They should make me a professor somewhere, or a director of something ... If I were a diplomat I'd turn the whole world upside down ... An educated woman ... And nothing to do.

Village schoolmaster Mikhail Vasilyevich has it all: wit, intelligence, a comfortable and respectable life in provincial Russia, and the attentions of four beautiful women - one of whom is his devoted wife. As summer arrives and the seasonal festivities commence, the rapidly intensifying heat makes everyone giddy with sunlight, vodka โ€“ and passion.

Michael Fraynโ€™s comedy of errors, drawn from Chekhovโ€™s untitled and posthumously discovered early play, is a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life replete with classic misunderstandings, irrepressible desires and nostalgia for a vanishing world.

Wild Honey received its premiere in the National Theatre's Lyttelton space, London, on 19 July 1984. This edition was published for the revival at the Hampstead Theatre in December 2016.

Series: Modern Plays

View all
  • The Play That Goes Wrong
    Good evening. Iโ€™m Inspector Carter. Take my case. This must be Charles Haversham! Iโ€™m sorry, this mustโ€™ve given you all a damn shock. After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. They are delighted that neither casting issues nor technical hitches currently stand in...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
    My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and the capital cities. And every prime number up to 7507. Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears's dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Punch
    "Another state-of-the-nation masterpiece from James Graham" - The Telegraph One life has been wasted, because of this. Senseless, no reason at all. So whereโ€™s the sense in wasting another? If we can โ€˜helpโ€™ him? Jacob Dunne, a teenager from Nottingham, spends his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends. One fateful evening, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Emilia
    Winner of the Noel Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy at the 2020 Olivier Awards In 1611, Emilia Bassano wrote a volume of radical, feminist, and subversive poetry. It was one of the first published collections of poetry written by a woman in England. The little we know of Emilia Bassano is restricted to the possibility that she may...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Women of Troy
    An industrial port of a war-torn city. Women survivors wait to be shipped abroad. Officials come and go. A grandmother, once Queen, watches as her remaining family are taken from her one by one. The city burns around them. The Women of Troy, Euripides' great anti-war tragedy, is published in Don Taylor's translation to coincide with the National Theatre's production...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Mother Courage and Her Children
    Mother Courage and Her Children was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is usually seen as Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the seventeenth century during the Thirty Years' War. The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage, who survives by running a commissary business that profits...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • An Experiment With An Air Pump
    An Experiment with an Air Pump is Shelagh Stephenson's daring and thoughtful new play. 1799 - On the eve of a new century, the house buzzes with scientific experiments, furtive romance, and farcical amateur dramatics. 1999 - In a world of scientific chaos, cloning, and genetic engineering, the cellar of the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Little Women
    Romantic Meg. Shy Beth. Wilful Amy. And, of course, passionate and fiery Jo. Little Women tells the story of the March sisters growing up in genteel poverty against the backdrop of the American Civil War. This timeless tale of four sisters' adventures has enchanted millions of readers, and is now available in this acclaimed adaptation for the stage.
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hamnet
    Sheโ€™s like no one Iโ€™ve ever met... Sheโ€™s like fire and water all at once. Warwickshire, 1582. Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer, meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare. Drawn together by powerful but hidden impulses, they create a life together and make a family. As William moves to London to discover his place in the world of theatre, Agnes stays...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    When this adaptation of C. S. Lewisโ€™s classic childrenโ€™s story opened at the RSC Stratford in November 1998, it received rave reviews and broke box office records. Four children are evacuated from London during the Blitz. While exploring the Professorโ€™s house, they stumble across the gateway to another world, and the adventure begins. The land of Narnia is under the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Vanya
    Winner of Best Revival at the Olivier Awards 2024Winner of Best Play Revival at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2024 Can you imagine if it was possible to completely change the way you live your life? To look at your life and ask yourself what you would do if it died. If your old life died. It ended. And then take whatโ€™s...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • 1984
    April, 1984. Winston Smith thinks a thought, starts a diary, and falls in love. But Big Brother is watching him, and the door to Room 101 can swing open in the blink of an eye. Its ideas have become our ideas, and Orwellโ€™s fiction is often said to be our reality. The definitive book of the 20th century is re-examined...
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

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?

Praised for Michael Frayn's masterful translation and adaptation, the play is celebrated for its blend of Chekhov's original genius with fresh lyricism. Critics describe it as a sparkling, tight, and moving comedy with beautifully organised acts, offering a charming glimpse into Chekhov's evolving talent. It has been called one of the most enjoyable plays in London and a brilliant theatrical piece that honours both Chekhov and Frayn.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350032293

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 December 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Edition: 2nd edition

Contributors:

  • Adapted by Michael Frayn

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 160g

Pages: 136

About the Author

Michael Frayn was born in London in 1933 and 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 Moliรจre 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. His most recent plays include 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. His most recent books were a work of philosophy, The Human Touch, and Stage Directions, a collection of his writing on the theatre.

Also by Anton Chekhov

View all
  • Fifty-Two Stories
    A masterfully rendered volume of Chekhov's stories from famed translators Pevear and Volokhonsky. Chekhov's genius left an indelible impact on every literary form in which he wrote, but none more so than short fiction. Now renowned translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky give us their superb renderings of fifty-two Chekhov stories. These stories, which span the full arc of his...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Backorder
    Ships mid September
  • A Nervous Breakdown
    46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 \"I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'
    Paperback
    $999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • About Love
    Introducing Little Clothbound Classics โ€” irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Widely considered to be one of the greatest ever writers of the form, Anton Chekhov's short stories offer unforgettable character, crystalline expression, and a beautiful, quiet uncertainty. Collected here are five of his very best...
    Hardback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Backorder
    Ships early September
  • The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories
    The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories (1917) is a collection of nine stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Recognised today as foundational for the development of the modern short story, Anton Chekhov has transcended Russian literature to become one of the most popular and acclaimed authors in history, in any language. This collection includes "The Lady with the...
    Hardback
    $5200
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Schoolmistress and Other Stories
    The Schoolmistress and Other Stories (1920) is a collection of short stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. "The Schoolmistress" was written in 1897 and published in an issue of Moscow's daily newspaper Russkiye Vedomosti. Even for Chekhov, whose work is characteristically bleak and noted for its unsparing realism, the title story of this collection is particularly hopeless. And yet, reading...
    Paperback
    $3300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Willow and Other Stories
    Old Arkhip sits every day by the roots of a wizened, hunchbacked willow, fishing and exchanging whispered stories with the ancient tree. One of these takes Arkhip three decades back in time, to a quiet day in early spring when a strange encounter shook him momentarily from the rural bliss in which he lived, catapulting him into a world of...
    Paperback
    $1699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Bishop and Other Stories
    The Bishop and Other Stories (1919) is a collection of short stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. The title story of the collection, originally published in 1902, finds the author at his most introspective. Written while Chekhov was dealing with the long-term effects of tuberculosis, a period in which he began to accept the inevitability of his own death, "The...
    Hardback
    $5200
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Shooting Party
    When a young woman dies during a shooting party at the country estate of a dissolute count, a magistrate is called upon to investigate. The mystery deepens and suspicion falls more widely as it emerges that the dead woman was at the centre of a tangled web of relationships: with her elderly husband, with the lecherous count, and with the...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Steppe and Other Stories, 1887-91
    This collection of Chekhov's finest early writing reveals a young writer mastering the art of the short story. The Steppe, which established his reputation, is the unforgettable tale of a boy's journey to a new school in Kiev, travelling through majestic landscapes towards an unknown destiny. Gusev depicts an ocean voyage, where the sea takes on a terrifying, primeval power;...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Plays
    At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by formulaic melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare the everyday lives, loves and yearnings of ordinary people. Ivanov depicts a man stifled by inactivity and lost idealism, and The Seagull contrasts a young man's selfish romanticism with the stoicism of a woman cruelly abandoned...
    Paperback
    $2399
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895
    These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career show him exploring complex, ambiguous, and often extreme emotions. Influenced by his own experiences as a doctor, Ward No. 6, set in a mental hospital, is a savage indictment of the medical profession. The Black Monk, portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity. In Murder,...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904
    In the final years of his life, Chekhov had reached the height of his powers as a dramatist and also produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces. The poignant The Lady with the Little Dog and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage โ€” its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. In stories...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoirย Home Again.This is more than a rock story.ย Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it.ย From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far youโ€™ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Buy to Win
    Did I Ever Tell You This?
    In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the worldโ€™s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. โ€˜A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.โ€™ - Hilary Swank โ€˜A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    14% off
    Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    37% off
    Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $2500
    Usually:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Buy to Win
    The Odyssey
    The Odyssey by Homer is a monumental epic that has enthralled readers for centuries with its rich tapestry of adventure and human struggle. It chronicles the perilous journey of Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, as he strives to return home after the fall of Troy. During this ten-year odyssey, Odysseus confronts myriad dangers, both natural and supernatural, that test...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Devotions
    New York Times Bestseller, chosen as Oprah's 'Books That Help Me Through' for Oprah's Book Club Chosen by Poetry Book Society as their special commendation 'No matter where one starts reading, Devotions offers much to love, from Oliver's exuberant dog poems to selections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Primitive, and Dream Work, one of her exceptional collections. Perhaps more important,...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Odyssey
    The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles. A Penguin Classic Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning modern-verse translation. "Sing to me of the...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.