“As your brother and intimate, I assure you that I understand you and sympathize with you from the bottom of my heart. I know all your good qualities like the back of my hand.”
In 1886, Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) wrote those words in a letter to his older brother, Nikolai (1858–1889). Regarded today as a master of the short story and a skilled playwright, the young Chekhov penned this letter out of concern for his brother’s alcoholism and his failure to develop his artistic and literary gifts.
The letter reflects Chekhov’s own talents for writing. He manages to be brusque, honest, humorous, caring, affectionate, and stern. He writes, for example:
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