work
Gloomy People
also: Хмурые люди, Khmurye Lyudi
Chekhov's 1890 story collection, requested in this letter to be dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the dedication was accepted and the book duly appeared inscribed to the composer.
Reading notes
- To I. I. Gorbunov-Posadov, 17 September 1891. Moscow. §3 "Gloomy People"
Chekhov's 1890 story collection (Хмурые люди), dedicated to Tchaikovsky, in which "The Attack" was also reprinted -- the story's second prior appearance, alongside the Garshin miscellany, that Chekhov cites here.
- To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 March 1890. Moscow. §5 In a week and a half to two weeks my little book, dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich, will come out.
The book is \emph{Gloomy People} (\emph{Хмурые люди}), Chekhov's 1890 story collection; the dedication to the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (distinct from this letter's addressee, his playwright brother Modest -- see the next note) was first proposed by Chekhov the previous year (see, \S4, "allow me to dedicate this book to you") and duly appeared in print. This letter shows Chekhov, on the eve of publication, revisiting the choice with some anxiety: he now worries the collection's grim character makes it an odd vehicle for a tribute meant as an expression of admiration.
- To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 March 1890. Moscow. §5 It consists of specially gloomy, psychopathological sketches and bears a gloomy title, so that admirers of Pyotr Ilyich, and he himself, will find my dedication very much not to their taste.
Chekhov's anxiety is about tonal fit, not about the dedication itself being unwelcome: \emph{Gloomy People} (\emph{Хмурые люди}) is a collection of dark, clinically observed character studies -- "psychopathological" is Chekhov's own word, reflecting his medical vocabulary -- and he worries its grim character makes an odd gift for an admired figure, rather than doubting Tchaikovsky's regard for him. The book was in fact published with the dedication standing.