The Sneeze

Comprising four one-act comic vaudevilles and four short stories adapted for the stage by Michael Frayn, The Sneezeintroduces readers to a less familiar selection of work by one of the greatest precursors of modern drama. First published in 1989, this reissue includes The Sneeze; The Alien Corn; The Bear; The Evils of Tobacco; The Inspector-General; Swan Song; The Prospect, and Plots. Michael Frayn's translations of Chekhov's work marry the expertise of the translator with the innate understanding of a master dramatist and are widely regarded as the truest, most authentic renderings of Chekhov's work: 'His keen imaginative sympathy with the great Russian dramatist extends beyond translation . . . But translation is an art at which he excels.' Spectator

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is regarded as one of the greatest precursors of modern drama owing largely to the brilliance of his four masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904). His work is a staple of the stage and of drama and literature courses.