Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Anton Chekhov. Born in 1860, Chekhov trained as a doctor and for most of his adult life divided his time between medicine and writing. Best known for plays including The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters, he is also celebrated today as one of the greatest of short story writers. His works are often powerful character studies and chronicle the changing nature of Russian society in the late nineteenth century.

With:

Catriona Kelly
Professor of Russian at the University of Oxford

Cynthia Marsh
Emeritus Professor of Russian Drama and Literature at the University of Nottingham

Rosamund Bartlett
Founding Director of the Anton Chekhov Foundation and former Reader in Russian at the University of Durham.

Producer: Thomas Morris.