work
On the Harm of Tobacco
"On the Harm of Tobacco"
also: О вреде табака, O vrede tabaka
A one-act monologue-scene by Chekhov, written in early 1886 for the comic actor Gradov-Sokolov and published in the Peterburgskaya Gazeta; Chekhov reports here finishing it in haste (in just two and a half hours) and considers the result badly botched, though the piece would go on to be revised repeatedly across his career.
Reading notes
- To V. V. Bilibin, 14 February 1886. Moscow. §5 On the Harm of Tobacco
Chekhov's one-act comic monologue, originally intended for the popular Moscow comedian Gradov-Sokolov; written under severe time pressure (Chekhov says he had only two and a half hours) and published, by his own account here, in a botched state in the Peterburgskaya Gazeta. He would go on to substantially revise the piece multiple times later in his career.