46 See OR, 331 81 19: Pavel's letters to Anton, 1878. 47 See RGALI, 331 81 25: Pavel's letters to Mitrofan and Liudmila Chekhov, 1876-93: 2 Feb. 1878. 48 See OR, 331 82 15: Nikolai's letters to Pavel Chekhov, 1879-84. 49 See RGALI, 2540 1 158: Pavel's letters to Ivan Chekhov, 1879-98. 50 See OR, 331 81 20: Pavel's letters to Anton, 1879. PART è Doctor Chekhov 1 See M. P. Chekhov's memoirs in Vokrug Cbekhova, 184-5. 2 See OR, 331 58 29: Gavriil Parfentievich Selivanov's letters to Anton, 1879-80: 5 Sept. 1879. 3 The Dragonfly had chequered prospects; not until 1906, when Russian censorship collapsed, was it transformed into Satirikon, one of Europe's sharpest humorous weeklies. 4 See OR, 331 81 20: Pavel's letters to Anton, 1879-85: 18 June 1880. 5 See OR, 331 81 16: Pavel's letter to Nikolai, 23 Aug. 1880. 6 See OR, 331 35 9: O. and P. Agali's letters to Anton, 1880-1. 7 See OR, 331 55 21: Anisim [Onisim] Petrov's letters to Anton. Chekhov used the name Anisim once, for a corrupt, demented and semiliterate policeman in a story, 'In the Ravine' (1899). 8 See OR, 331 48 49: Solomon Kramariov's letters to Anton, 1881, 1904. 9 Anastasia's husband, Putiata shared the editorship of Chiaroscuro with Pushkariov. 10 Despite the marital links that bound the Goldens to the Chekhovs, Anton's younger brothers and his sister obliterated the Golden name from history. 11 Many an Anna Ivanovna pined for a Chekhov: we shall call her Anna Sokolnikova. 12 See OR, 331 82 12: A. I. Khrushchiova-Sokolnikova, nee Aleksandrova, documents. 13 Chekhov's opinions coincided with those of two men whom he venerated, Turgenev and his future publisher Aleksei Suvorin, but he would not know this until five years later. 14 The Unnecessary Victory has generated four screenplays this century. 15 'Slough' from Continual Dew (1937)16 The first page of Chekhov's case notes is given in I. Geizer, Chekhov i meditsina, 1960, 12. 17 Pelageia's entry each afternoon with the question, 'Isn't it time you had your beer?' was used much later by Chekhov for Dr Ragin's servant in 'Ward No. 6.' 18 See OR, 331 50 1 a-m, for Leikin's 205 letters to Anton, 1882-1900. 19 See RGALI, 2540 1 149: Aleksandr's letters to Ivan Chekhov, 1882-97. 20 Cut from Pis'ma, 1939: see OR, 331 328: Aleksandr's letters to Anton, 1882. 21 See OR, 331 81 16: Pavel's letter to Anton and Nikolai, 2 Jan. 1883. 22 A little of Anton's studies can be gleaned from E. Meve, Meditsina v tvorchestve… Kiev, 1989. 23 See OR, 331 81 13: Pavel's letters to Aleksandr Chekhov, 1874-94: 22 Mar. 1883. 24 This passage (13 May 1883) was cut from PSSP: see Kuranty, 8 Sept. 1993, 9. 25 See OR, 331 33 126: Evgenia's letter to Anton, 2 July 1883.
16
16
606
607
ANTON CHEKHOV
26 Sabaneev, brother of Chekhov's chemistry lecturer, edited Nature and Field Sports. He paid Chekhov nothing. 27 See PSSP, XVIII, 82-3. 28 See OR, 331 81 15: Pavel to Nikolai Chekhov, 2 Dec. 1883. 29 Unfortunately, Popudoglo's books were unusable and, except for an antiquarian compendium of naval terms which Chekhov found useful for comic purposes, were given to a junk dealer. 30 See OR, 331 55 8: Liodor Palmin's letters to Anton, 1883-6. 31 See RGALI, 549 1 10: Chekhov's case notes, with a commentary (c. 1920) by Dr Rossolimo. 32 See A. B. Derman, ed., A. P. Chekhov: Sbornik dokumentov…, 1947, 20-3. 33 Quote in PSSP, 2, 473. 34 See OR, 331 82 15: Nikolai's letters to Pavel Chekhov, 1879-87. 35 There was a much younger fourth Markova sister, Nina. See RGALI, 549 1352 and 549 3 1 for Elizaveta Markova-Sakharova's and Nina Markova's recollections of the Chekhov brothers. 36 See OR, 331 82 21: Nikolai's letters to Anton, 1883-9, a°d OR, 33i 47 45b: A. S. Kiseliov's letters to Anton, 1886. 37 See OR, 331 42 7: Liubov Dankovskaia's letters to Anton, 1884: October. 38 Pakosti for Novosti; News of the Day was delivered to the Chekhovs in the mid 1880s: Evgenia read it and, to Pavel's annoyance, then mislaid it. 39 In Chekhov's circles Plevako was notorious: with the editor of The Alarm Clock, the homicidal Kicheev, he once found a provincial theatre closed: Plevako paid the cashier 500 roubles - a full house takings - and had the actors brought from their hotel to perform, while he and Kicheev lurked invisible in the gallery. Plevako acted for the Chekhovs in 1905. 40 Dr Ilarion Dubrovo's death from diphtheria on 20 May 1883, after sucking out a child's infected membranes, inspired stories by both Leskov and Chekhov. 41 See OR, 331 42 54: M. M. Diukovsky's letters to Anton,
1884-93.
42 See OR, 331 64 46a: Maria Ianova's letters to Anton, 1885-6. 43 An organization set up in St Petersburg in 1859 to help writers and their families. 44 See OR, 331 50 iv, g: Leikin's letters to Anton, 1885 and 1886. 45 See OR, 331 62 27: Natalia to Anton, a sheet from a notebook, marked 1885 by Chekhov. 46 See OR, 331 73 10: Pavel's letter to Misha, 11 Aug. 1885. 47 See OR, 331 31 1: Anna's postscript to Aleksandr's letter to Pavel, 13 Aug. 1885. 48 See OR, 331 82 2: Aleksandr's letters to Maria Chekhova, 1883-7. 49 Chekhov was at a loss for a title: he talked to Leikin's second-incommand, Bilibin: they came up with Leikin-like titles: Cats and Carp, Flowers and Dogs. Leikin himself suggested In the Maelstrom or Dolls and Masks. Chekhov in despair pondered Buy the book or I smash your face. 50 See OR, 331 47 45b: A. S. Kiseliov's letters to Anton, 1886. 51 Mile Sirout [in Russian 'I shit'] is almost certainly, like Masha's girlfriend Josephina Pavlovna [pronounced colloquially Zhopa, 'arse'], Anton's invention. 52 See OR, 331 64 20: Evdokia Efros's
NO
three letters to Anton, 1886: 27 June. 53 See OR, 331 36 75b: Viktor Bilibin's letters to Anton, 1886. 54 This passage (28 Dec. 1885) was cut from the PSSP: see Kuranty, 8 Sept. 1993, 9. 55 See OR, 331 63 25a: Franz Schechtel's letters to Anton, 1885-6. The joint effort of hauling Kolia over the coals made Schechtel a family friend of die Chekhovs. Aunt Fenichka even urged him to convert from Cadiolicism to Orthodoxy. When Schechtel was late widi sketches for the cover for Motley Stories, Anton gave him, as punishment, a choice of 'Egyptian plagues'; Schechtel chose No. 10 'A pair of circus girls, alive and fresh, delivered to your house'. 'When,' Anton asked Schechtel diat Easter, 'are we going to screw die circus girls?' PART in My Brothers' Keeper 1 Anna Suvorina's memoir is in M. D. Beliaev, A. S. Dolinin, A. P. Chekhov. Zateriannye proizvedneiia, Neizdannye pis'ma, Novye vospominaiia. Leningrad: Atenei, 1925, 185-95. 2 See Pis'ma A. S. Suvorina kV.V. Rozanovu, Spb, 1913, 10; see also V. V. Rozanov, Mimoliotnoe 1994, 133-43 See OR, 331 63 25c: Franz Schechtel's two letters to Nikolai Chekhov, 1886. 4 Cut from Levitan: Pis'ma, 1956; see OR, 331 49 25a, Levitan's letters to Anton, 1885-6. 5 Cut from Pis'ma k A. P. Chekhova 1939: see OR, 331 32 12. 6 In fact die audior was Skabichevsky, a critic as scabious as his name.
7 See OR, 331 33 5b: Georgi Chekhov's letters to Anton, 1888: 30 Apr. 8 See OR, 331 47 45b: A. S. Kiseliov's twenty letters to Anton, 1886. 9 See Masha's account, Vokrug Chekhova, 231. 10 See OR, 331 58 31: A. L. Selivanova-Krause's letters to Anton, 1887-95. 11 See OR, 331 50 id: Leikin's letters to Anton, 1887. 12 See OR, 331 47 48: Maria Kiseliova's letters to Anton, 18861900. 13 Cut from A. S. Suvorin, Dnevnik: quoted in V. Lakshin, Proval in Teatr, 1987, 4, 83-91; more extensively in Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 1995, No. 15, 147-51. 14 See OR, 331 82 2: Aleksandr's letters to Masha, 1883-7: 28 Apr. 1887. 15 See OR, 331 82 17: Nikolai's letter to Masha, 1887. 16 In Taganrog cousin George was working for a diird Tchaikovsky brother, Ippolit (the fat, heterosexual Tchaikovsky who told jokes), director of die shipping company diere. 17 See N. M.?,zhov Aleksei Sergeevich Suvorin, Moi vospominaniia 0 niom, dumy i soobrazhenia in Istoricheskii vestnik, SPb, 1915, 1, 110-38. 18 Cut from PSSP: see OR, 331 22 14: Anton's letters to Schechtel, 1886-1902; 4 June 1887. The passage was inked out by Schechtel. 19 From a draft of a letter in 1904 to die writer Doroshevich, quoted in PSSP, 2,401-2. 20 From Suvorin's letter of die late 1880s to his leader-writer Diakov, quoted in PSSP, 2, 401. 21 See M. P. Chekhov's memoirs; also P. A. Sergeenko, 0. Chekhove, in Niva, 1904, 10, 217-18.