Chapter 25: Anton Chekhov.

Anton Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Russia, on January 17 (Old Style), 1860. His grandfather, a serf, saved 3,500 rubles and bought his family’s freedom. Anton took a medical degree at the University of Moscow. During this period he helped support his family by writing for the Moscow comic papers. His first book went unnoticed, but a second, Motley Stories, published in 1886, became broadly popular. In the following year his first play, Ivanov, pleased audiences in Moscow and St. Petersburg. He was awarded the Pushkin Prize. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]