When I recently retrieved a number of books from storage, I was pleasantly surprised to find an unread copy of Anton Chekhov: A Life in Letters. I had forgotten that I’d bought this book before it got tucked away in a cardboard box.

In the past, I’ve read with pleasure a number of letters written by Chekhov, but this is a much larger and more comprehensive collection than I’ve read before. It’s edited and translated by Rosamund Bartlett, who wrote a great biography of Chekhov that I read several years ago. Suffice to say, I am very excited to have a copy of this book to peruse, and imagine many smiles while reading.

I’ve long had a favorite quote from Anton Chekhov. I came across it soon after discovering him as a writer, way back in my misbegotten youth. The quote comes from a letter that was included in The Portable Chekhov, published by Viking, a copy of which I picked up secondhand many years ago.

The quote goes as followed, as translated in that beat-up old Viking edition:

“My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love, and absolute freedom—freedom from violence and falsehood, no matter how the last two manifest themselves.”