about the author

Anton Chekhov was born on January 299, 1860 and was the third of six surviving children. His grandfather was a serf who had bought his freedom. His father owned a grocery store. He was the choir director at the church and was also physically abusive to his children. They way his father was when he was growing up could have inspired some of his stories later on in life. Chekhov's mother was a great storyteller and could have inspired him from a very young age to be a writer. His father fell into debt and fled the country to avoid his debtor's so the family was forced to live in poverty in Moscow. Chekhov started writing to put himself through school, make a living, and support his family, which he had assumed responsibility for in his father's absence, but soon found that he loved it. At first, critics did not like his writings, but things started to look up for Chekhov after a trip to Ukraine inspired him to write the first of his stories to be published to a literary journal instead of the newspaper. After this, things only got better for Chekhov. He worked as a physician, which is what he went to college for, and wrote in his spare time. By May 1904, he was terminally ill with tuberculosis. He died soon after  and was buried in Moscow. Chekhov left a great legacy, inspiring author's such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Katherine Mansfield. His works are still enjoyed by readers today.