To I. P. Chekhov, 27 January 1891. Petersburg.
И. П. ЧЕХОВУ, 27 января 1891 г. Петербург.
Headnote
A letter of 27 January 1891, from Petersburg, to Chekhov’s brother Ivan Pavlovich ("Ivan," a schoolteacher), part of the same run of Petersburg letters describing the exhausting aftermath of the Sakhalin trip: constant visitors, society calls, and interrupted work, now compounded by fatigue.
Chekhov reports being run off his feet from morning to the small hours by well-wishers and dignitaries eager to hear about Sakhalin, notes with some irony the "importance" his journey has acquired in official circles, and complains he has no time to write the book everyone is expecting. He turns to practical matters – books donated for the planned Sakhalin school libraries, and the modest but improving sales of his own books, including a fifth edition of two collections and a second edition each of two others. He voices his longing for rest (four months in one place, fishing), asks after Ivan’s health, and promises a March visit. A brief postscript reports a letter from a fellow writer and a stray comic detail about perfume.