The Bishop and Other Stories

What It's About

This collection brings together seven of Chekhov's short stories, spanning clergy, peasantry, and provincial gentry. The title story follows an ailing bishop, Pyotr, through the days of Holy Week as he presides over Palm Sunday services while grappling with mounting illness and the quiet isolation his position has brought him — even as he longs for the simple warmth of connection, particularly with the mother he hasn't seen in years. Other stories in the volume include "The Letter," in which two priests debate how to handle a wayward son; "Easter Eve," narrated by a traveller drawn into a monk's grief over a dead friend; "A Nightmare," about a landowner confronting the poverty of a rural clergyman; "The Murder," a study of religious fanaticism within a family; "Uprooted," following a young convert's uneasy return to his family; and "The Steppe," a long, lyrical account of a boy's journey by wagon across the open Russian countryside. Together, the stories move between comedy and tragedy, capturing everyday provincial life with Chekhov's characteristic restraint.

Key Concepts

Isolation and the distance created by social rank and duty; religious faith set against doubt and human frailty; family relationships strained by distance, class, or belief; and the rhythms of provincial and rural Russian life.

About the Author

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician and writer regarded as one of the greatest short-story writers in world literature. Born in Taganrog to a family of modest means, he trained and briefly practised as a doctor while supporting his family through writing, and went on to reshape the short story with a restrained, understated style that avoided obvious moralising. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 44.

About This Edition

This is a 1919 translation by Constance Garnett.