Short Fiction

Short Fiction by Leonid Andreyev is a fiction, shorts first published in 1898-1916. At its center are human motives, relationships, conflict, and the consequences of choice, developed through the conventions and freedoms of fiction, shorts. This English edition is presented in a translation by Herman Bernstein, Alexandra Linden, L. A. Magnus, K. Walter, W. H. Lowe, The Russian Review, Archibald J. Wolfe, John Cournos, R. S. Townsend, Maurice Magnus, bringing the work’s original voice into a different linguistic setting. Leonid Andreyev relies on a character-centered narrative style that rewards attention to voice, structure, and perspective, allowing mood and structure to carry as much meaning as subject matter. At roughly 343,032 words with a fairly easy reading profile, it offers a reading commitment that is easy to judge before beginning while still leaving room for close attention. Its continuing value lies in its capacity to make unfamiliar lives and difficult choices emotionally legible. For modern readers, the pleasure comes from entering its particular world while noticing how its central concerns still shape personal and public life.