As the nineteenth century ends, Lyubov Ranyevskaya returns from Paris to her country estate in Russia. The family's wealth has been squandered, and Russia itself is on the brink of tremendous upheaval. A friend proposes a scheme to secure financial independence, but no- one in the family seems able to face the future. First produced in 1904, this funny, poignant and compassionate play is now widely performed throughout the world. CAMBRIDGE LITERATURE is a series of study texts presents writing in the English-speaking world from the 16th century up to the present day The series includes novels, drama, short stories, poetry, essays and others types of non-fiction. Each edition has the complete text with an appropriate glossary. The student will find in each volume a helpful introduction and a full section of resource notes encouraging active and imaginative study methods.