In this episode of Lit With Charles, I speak with writer, translator, and Chekhov expert Rosamund Bartlett about her new translation of Anton Chekhov’s Early Stories. We talk about how Anton Chekhov - the Russian doctor who transformed short fiction - first found his voice, and why his quiet, compassionate storytelling still feels so modern.

Rosamund also shares insights from her other acclaimed works, including About Love and Other Stories (Oxford World’s Classics, 2004/8), her celebrated translation of Anna Karenina (Oxford World’s Classics, 2014), and The Russian Soul: Selections from A Writer’s Diary (Notting Hill Books, 2017). It’s a fascinating conversation about literature, translation, and the enduring power of small moments — and I hope you enjoy listening to it!

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Rosamund Bartlett’s four books were:

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• The Queen of Spades, by Alexander Pushkin (1834)
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• The Student, by Anton Chekhov (1894)
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• Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy (1878)
• A Writer’s Diary, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1873–1881)