Episode 831: Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" with Rachel Pastan

When times are tough, can literature help? After sharing an email from a listener, Jacke talks to author Rachel Pastan about her novel We're So Lucky to Live Here, in which a woman copes with a tragic loss by staging a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in her childhood home.

For more about Chekhov's life and works, revisit Jacke's five-episode exploration of four Chekhov plays or take a listen to Jacke's conversation with Bob Blaisdell, author of Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius, about the two-year period in which Chekhov went from a virtual unknown to a promising literary star admired by Tolstoy himself (Episode 468).

Episode 290: Jacke kicks off a look at Chekhov's four greatest plays by exploring the relationship of comedy to tragedy in The Seagull. 

Episode 292: In the second installment of our look at Chekhov's four major plays, Jacke takes a look at Uncle Vanya (1898), the story of an estate manager struggling to make sense of his life.

Episode 294: In the third installment of Chekhov's Four Major Plays, Jacke takes a look at Three Sisters, which tells the story of three sisters living in a provincial capital and longing for Moscow.

Episode 295: In this episode, Jacke sets the table for the History of Literature's analysis of The Cherry Orchard (1904) with a look back, a look ahead, and a preview of the play's major themes.

Episode 299: In 1971, critic J.L. Styan wrote: "In The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov consummated his life’s work with a poetic comedy of exquisite balance." In this episode, Jacke and Mike take a look at Chekhov's final play, including a draft of the Top 10 lines of dialogue.