Five Plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Anton Chekhov (Author), Ronald Hingley (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: July 9, 1998

Chekhov's worldwide reputation as a dramatist rests on five great plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard. All are presented in this collection, taken from the authoritative Oxford Chekhov, in Ronald Hingley's acclaimed translation. Hingley has also written an introduction specifically for this volume in which he provides a detailed history of Chekhov's involvement in the theater and an assessment of his accomplishment as a dramatist.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

About the Author

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a physician, major Russian short story writer and playwright.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192834126
• ISBN-13: 978-0192834126
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Oxford edition of Chekhov is an all-round disappointment., January 20, 2010

By 

Brad Hoevel (Saginaw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Based on the outstanding quality of his Plays and Short Stories, Anton Chekhov is commonly considered one of the most influential, respected and beloved literary figures of the twentieth century. I recommend his writing in both fields to anyone who enjoys reading great literature. The Five Plays included in this volume -- Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard -- are recognized as Chekhov's greatest and most important works as a playwright.

The problems I have with the Oxfords World's Classics edition of Chekhov's plays are: (1) the translation; (2) the absence of any shorter plays by Chekhov; (3) the scarcity of supplemental material like notes and commentary. These might seem like minor, nit-picky complaints; however, they become major flaws when we compare the Oxford editions with other available collections of Chekhov plays.

In my opinion, the Hingley translation was over-anglicized and thus missing the "Russian" feel of other translations. Compare it, for instance, with the Selenick: "Misha" (in Selenick) becomes "Michael" (in Hingley)
"Lyubov Andreevna" becomes "Mrs. Ranevskaya"
"Lent, third week" is shortened to "before easter"
"peasant" is rendered as "country bumpkin"

Here's what I recommend instead. These editions also contain Chekhov's 5 major plays, but all go above and beyond the basic, "bare-bones-package" of the Oxford edition.

Anton Chekhov's Selected Plays (Norton Critical Editions): includes additional short plays: The Bear, The Wedding and The Celebration. Also nearly 100 pages of Chekhov's letters in which he discusses his plays. Also 100-page sections of commentary by literary critics and Directors of theater who have taken part in the production of the plays themselves. Translated and heavily annotated by Laurence Senelick.

The Plays of Anton Chekhov: Nine plays total. Acclaimed translated by Chekhovian actor Paul Schmidt.

The Complete Plays: Also the Selenick translation. The most complete collection of Chekhov's stage works currently available. 1000+ pages.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but not Chekhov, March 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This translation is a nice effort -- at rewriting the original, extremely subtle text as a modern English drama according to the tastes and limitations of the translator. If you're looking to capture the true genius of Chekhov, try another.

3.0 out of 5 stars Translation feels un-Russian, October 6, 2011

By 

buru buru piggu (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Five Plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I read The Seagull in high school and decided to pick up my copy again recently. I got part way through Ivanov and stopped because of how inauthentic the translation sounded. Now that I'm an adult and have had many more years of reading works in translation and exposure to the philosophy of language, I see many problems with Roger Hingley's translation.

He takes many liberties with phrases and I did not get a feel for the original Russian text, almost erasing all the Russian-ness from it in Ivanov. Do Russians sound like stodgy English geezers? Here's an example from Act III Scene I: "French know what they want. They only want to make mincemeat of Brother Fritz, but Germany's another cup of tea, old boy. Germany has other fish to fry besides France." Hingley plays fast and loose with colloquialisms: mincemeat, fish to fry, cup of tea.. I can't imagine Russians in the country side talking like this. In the Seagull, among his many Anglicizations:

Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin as Peter Sorin
Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplyov as Constantine Treplev
Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya as Nina Zerechny
Yevgeny Dorn as Eugene Dorn
Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko as Simon Medvedenko

Look for another translation instead. This one makes everyone sound like stuffy old Brits (because Hingley himself is British), especially with the copious usage of "old boy" as a diminutive and phrasing like "he's a funny chap".