Uncle Vanya

Uncle Vanya is a play by Anton Chekhov, first published in 1897 and first produced by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1899.

Serebriakov is a retired university professor, and the story takes place on the country estate inherited by his daughter, Sonia. He and his much younger second wife, Elena, have come to stay there.

The household includes Sonia; her uncle Vanya; Vanya’s mother, Maria; the nurse Marina; Teleguin, an impoverished landowner nicknamed Waffles; and a hired workman. Their routine has long centered on maintaining the estate.

For years, Vanya and Sonia have dedicated themselves to managing the estate and sending its income to Serebriakov, whom Vanya once admired as a distinguished scholar.

Their presence disrupts the household, and Vanya concludes that the professor is not the great intellectual he once imagined. He despairs at having spent his life serving his self-important brother-in-law while also struggling with his attraction to Elena.

The play examines wasted time, disappointed hopes, and the characters’ longing for lives they cannot attain. Chekhov's description of the characters' feelings of ennui and tedium is masterful.

This digital edition of the play Uncle Vanya in PDF, ePUB and MOBI is based on Project Gutenberg's translation.