Anton Chekhov

At the opening night of The Seagull in October, 1896, the St Petersburg play-goers were expecting a comedy. The audience quickly became bored, and Nina's long monologue at the end of Act One was booed. Chekhov was so upset that he wrote "Never again shall I write plays or have them staged."

During his early years as a writer, Chekhov used several pen-names. Much of his youthful work appeared under the name 'Antosha Chekhonte.'

His first story to be published appeared in March, 1880, in the weekly magazine Dragonfly of St. Petersburg.

He wrote one travel book, called A Journey to Sakhalin.

Always successful in Russia, international fame only came to Chekhov in the 1920s, long after his death, thanks to Constance Garnett's translations of his work into English.

As a schoolboy, Chekhov loved to go to the theatre, but he needed a special permission from his school which he sometimes didn't get. So he used to disguise himself, wearing stage make-up, glasses and a false beard.

His old high school was called the Taganrog Gymnasium for Boys. It is now a co-educational school called the Chekhov Gymnasium.

His grandfather on the Chekhov side was a former serf who had bought his freedom.

Chekhov was the son of a grocer in Taganrog, a Russian port on the Sea of Azov.

Apart from his plays, most of Chekhov's output as a writer was in the form of short stories, of which he wrote hundreds.

Chekhov's four most important plays: The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Seagull, have all been filmed several times and are often revived as stage productions.