Dear Writer, Dear Actress: The Love Letters of Anton Chekhov Amd Olga Knipper (Paperback)

~ A.P. Chekhov (Author), Ol'ga Leonardovna Knipper (Author), Jean Benedetti (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These letters between Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) and Olga Knipper (1868-1959) tell of their courtship and marriage. The brief time the two had together?the five years preceding his death?was interrupted by Chekhov's stays in Yalta because of his tuberculosis and Knipper's work in Moscow as an actress. Knipper's letters contain fine descriptions of the Moscow theater world and the struggles of an actress and a theater company. The letters beautifully convey Knipper's spiritual longings and explore the changes in the couple's relationship and the problems, illusions, and complexities of their life together. This well-wrought portrait of a vanished world has received an excellent translation. Recommended for Russian literature and theater collections.?Gene Shaw, NYPL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A moving and intimate epistolary record of the complex relationship between the great Russian playwright and the actress who eventually became his wife. Chekhov (18601904) already had an advanced case of tuberculosis when he met Knipper (18681959) in the fall of 1898. She was rehearsing the role of Arkadina in his revised version of The Seagull for the newly formed Moscow Art Theatre; the production's success--and her personal triumph in it--meant that she spent the theater season in Moscow while he, under doctor's orders, spent the long Russian winter in the warmer climate of Yalta. These separations, which continued after their marriage in 1901, made letters their primary form of communication for months at a time. The couple's very different personalities stand in sharp relief: Knipper's lively epistles, which feature evocative descriptions of the Russian landscape and some astute analysis of her lover's personality, reveal an affectionate, frank, impulsive woman who wrote what she thought and frequently expressed frustration with Chekhov's elusiveness. The playwright's missives are witty, charming, and infuriatingly oblique about his feelings, although his post-wedding correspondence is noticeably warmer. Benedetti (Stanislavski, 1988) has edited the letters to focus on the pair's personal relationship; frequent ellipses suggest that a good deal of information about Moscow Art Theatre rehearsals and internal politics has been omitted, possibly to avoid overlap with The Moscow Art Theatre Letters, which he also edited. Interesting though the couple's emotional ups and downs are, more material on their shared professional life--he wrote Masha in Three Sisters and Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard for her--would have made this even better. Nonetheless, this correspondence gives us wonderfully vivid self-portraits of two important Russian artists and a poignant chronicle of love struggling against the handicap of distance and the ravages of terminal illness. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd (March 15, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0413776379
• ISBN-13: 978-0413776372
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #465,010 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing and romantic, June 3, 2006

By	Zahra Kadivar "zk" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dear Writer, Dear Actress : The Love Letters of Anton Chekhov and Olga Knipper (Hardcover)

I read this book 4 years ago, I finished it passed midnight, and the words touched my heart so deeply that to date I have read it over and over, and any time I read it I cant help myself to cry.