“A strong background in Russian language and culture, combined with professional theater experience as an actress and director, prepared Sharon Carnicke not only to translate Chekhov’s plays for performance but also to illuminate the mysteries of his works for theater artists preparing to stage the plays. Certainly it is actors and directors who have the most to gain from this ‘guide to the plays,’ which also serves as an intelligent introductory study for general readers. Carnicke covers the basics—transliteration, how Russian names are used, capsule biography, late nineteenth-century theatrical genres—while offering enough fresh insight into Chekhov’s world and his work to hold the interest of those already familiar with the plays.” —Felicia Hardison Londré , University of Missouri–Kansas City. Review published in The Russian Review, January 2014 (Vol. 73, No. 1)