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The Duel

By Anton Chekhov
Introduction by Aleksandar Hemon
Translated by Constance Garnett

By Anton Chekhov
Introduction by Aleksandar Hemon
Translated by Constance Garnett

By Anton Chekhov

By Anton Chekhov

By Anton Chekhov
Introduction by Aleksandar Hemon
Translated by Constance Garnett

By Anton Chekhov
Introduction by Aleksandar Hemon
Translated by Constance Garnett

Best Seller

Part of Modern Library Classics

Part of Vintage Classics

Part of Modern Library Classics

Paperback $12.00

Oct 14, 2003 | ISBN 9780812970081

Ebook $5.99

Aug 10, 2010 | ISBN 9780307742964

Ebook $2.99

Dec 18, 2007 | ISBN 9780307432155

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    The Duel by Anton Chekhov
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    Oct 14, 2003 | ISBN 9780812970081

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    About The Duel

    First published in 1891, this morality tale pits a scientist, a government worker, his mistress, a deacon, and a physician against one another in a verbal battle of wits and ethics that explodes into a violent contest: the duel. When Laevsky, a lazy youth who works for the government, tires of his dependent mistress, Nadyezhda Fyodorovna, Von Koren, the scientist, delivers a scathing critique of Loevsky’s egotism, forcing the young man to examine his soul. The Duel is a tale of human weakness, the possibility of forgiveness, and a man’s ultimate ability to change his ways. It is classic Chekhov, revealing the multifaceted essence of human nature.

    About The Duel

    Includes a new forward by the screenwriter Mary Bing 

    In Anton Chekhov’s The Duel the escalating animosity between two men with opposed philosophies of life is played out against the backdrop of a seedy resort on the Black Sea coast.

    Laevsky is a dissipated romantic given to gambling and flirtation; he has run off with another man’s wife, the beautiful but vapid Nadya, and now finds himself tiring of her. The scientist von Koren is contemptuous of Laevsky; as a fanatical devotee of Darwin, von Koren believes the other man to be unworthy of survival and is further enraged by his treatment of Nadya. As the confrontation between the two becomes increasingly heated, it leads to a duel that is as comically inadvertent as it is inevitable. Masterfully translated by the award-winnning Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, The Duel is one of the most subtle examples of Chekhov’s narrative art.

    About The Duel

    First published in 1891, this morality tale pits a scientist, a government worker, his mistress, a deacon, and a physician against one another in a verbal battle of wits and ethics that explodes into a violent contest: the duel. When Laevsky, a lazy youth who works for the government, tires of his dependent mistress, Nadyezhda Fyodorovna, Von Koren, the scientist, delivers a scathing critique of Loevsky’s egotism, forcing the young man to examine his soul. The Duel is a tale of human weakness, the possibility of forgiveness, and a man’s ultimate ability to change his ways. It is classic Chekhov, revealing the multifaceted essence of human nature.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Anton Chekhov

    Fifty-Two Stories
    Kashtanka
    Big Volodya and Little Volodya
    The Major Plays
    The Complete Short Novels
    See all books by Anton Chekhov

    Also by Anton Chekhov

    Fifty-Two Stories
    Kashtanka
    Big Volodya and Little Volodya
    The Major Plays
    The Complete Short Novels
    See all books by Anton Chekhov

    Also by Anton Chekhov

    Fifty-Two Stories
    Kashtanka
    Big Volodya and Little Volodya
    The Major Plays
    The Complete Short Novels
    See all books by Anton Chekhov

    About Anton Chekhov

    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are… More about Anton Chekhov

    About Anton Chekhov

    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are… More about Anton Chekhov

    About Anton Chekhov

    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are… More about Anton Chekhov

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $12.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Oct 14, 2003 | 128 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | ISBN 9780812970081

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $5.99
    Published by Vintage
    Aug 10, 2010 | 144 Pages | ISBN 9780307742964

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $2.99
    Published by Modern Library
    Dec 18, 2007 | 128 Pages | ISBN 9780307432155
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    Praise

    “Chekhov’s art . . . is dedicated to explicit and definitive portraiture and the muscular trajectory of whole lives.”—Cynthia Ozick

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