First published 1884
Olga lives with her drunken forester father on a country estate, trapped in poverty until she marries Urbenin, the estate manager who adores her. But her beauty attracts other men too. Count Karneyev pursues her with dissolute intentions, while magistrate Zinovyev desires her and knows the secret misery of her marriage. When someone tries to kill Olga in the woods, the web of suspects seems impenetrable. Lust, deceit, and jealousy connect all the men around her, making it impossible to identify her attacker. Chekhov weaves together mystery elements with a story of corruption and concealed passion. The investigation reveals the fatal jealousies that drive these characters toward violence. This early work combines the author's gift for psychological insight with the structure of a crime story, showing how desire and desperation lead to attempted murder on a Russian estate.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Russia, Russian Estate
Period: 19th Century, 20th Century
199 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics
Content warnings: violence