The Witch and Other Stories

What It's About

This is a collection of fifteen short stories, originally published in 1918 as the sixth volume of the "Tales of Chekhov series." The stories range widely across late nineteenth-century Russian life, from lonely rural huts and windswept steppe to provincial villages and a hospital ship at sea. Rather than following a single plot, the collection builds a portrait of Russia through its peasants, clergy, officials, and wanderers, catching them in single, revealing moments.

Key Concepts

Superstition and folk belief run through stories such as "The Witch" and "Happiness," where isolation and rumour shape how people are seen by their neighbours. Faith and doubt surface most directly in "The Student," which traces an unexpected moment of connection across centuries. Several stories, including "Peasants," "In the Ravine," and "A Malefactor," look unflinchingly at rural poverty, exploitation, and the indifference of the law. Others, like "Agafya" and "The Huntsman," turn to thwarted love and isolation, while "The Post" and "Gusev" sit with duty and mortality. Throughout, Chekhov is less interested in resolving these tensions than in observing them closely and without sentimentality.

About the Author

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian short-story writer and playwright, and one of the most influential figures in the development of the modern short story. The grandson of a serf, he trained and worked as a physician while building his literary career, and wrote hundreds of stories over his lifetime alongside major plays such as "The Seagull" and "Uncle Vanya." He died of tuberculosis at the age of 44.

About This Edition

This is a 1918 translation by Constance Garnett.