This carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Excerpt: "In each one of us there are too many springs, too many wheels and cogs for us to judge each other by first impressions or by two or three external indications." Ivanoff, Act 3 (1887) Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician, dramaturge and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. Chekhov practised as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary career. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them.