Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, by Anton Chekhov, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars. Biographies of the authors. Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events. Footnotes and endnotes. Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work. Comments by other famous authors. Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations. Bibliographies for further reading. Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate. All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences-biographical, historical, and literary-to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Anton Chekhov invented the modern short story. With writing that is concise, realistic, and evocative, he became a sort of photographer in words, less interested in plot than in the subtleties of mood and atmosphere, and the telling detail. His characters, always vividly drawn, come from all walks of life and often seem to be caught up in a world they don't quite understand.