The Wood Demon [Paperback]

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Author), Nicholas Saunders (Author)

Book Description

Those audiences fortunate enough to have seen a production of Chekhov's The Wood Demon, know that it is a marvel, a play equal to The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, and The Three Sisters.

Unlike the others, The Wood Demon is a young man's play, bursting with vitality, energy, and hope. Chekhov has not yet drawn the sky close around his characters: they are able to continue on, undaunted, in the face of sorrow and disappointment. In its intermingling of tears and laughter, The Wood Demon may be one of the most astonishingly Chekhovian of all Chekhov's plays.

This translation of The Wood Demon was produced by The Mark Taper Forum as a classics lab workshop production and will debut on the Taper mainstage in the 1993-94 season.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Chekhov finished The Wood Demon in 1889, and within months it was rejected for production by two theaters. Chekhov himself wrote, "I despise this play and am trying to forget I ever wrote it." Ten years later, however, he reworked it into Uncle Vanya, which is considered a masterpiece. This new translation was rendered by Dwyer, a literary manager of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and director of an upcoming version of The Wood Demon , and Saunders, who previously translated Mikhail Bulgakov's Zoya's Apartment. Students of Chekhov will find it fascinating to compare this early work with Vanya. A valuable bonus is an afterword that gives interesting background information on the original play. The Wood Demon is often left out of collections of Chekhov's plays and is minimally mentioned in critical works. These considerations alone justify the work's inclusion in most theater collections.
- Diane H. Albosta, Episcopal H.S. Lib., Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc; 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188039930X
• ISBN-13: 978-1880399309
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,689,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great, March 28, 2007

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