Running the gamut from sweet and reverent to twisted and uproarious, and with many of the stories appearing in English for the first time, this is a collection that will satisfy every reader. Dostoevsky brings stories of poverty and tragedy, Tolstoy inspires with his fable-like tales, Chekhov's unmatchable skills are on full display in a story about a female factory owner and the wretched workers, Klavdia Lukashevitch delights with a sweet and surprising tale of a childhood in White Russia, and Mikhail Zoshchenko recounts madcap anecdotes of Christmas trees and Christmas thieves. There is no shortage of vodka or wit on display here, in a collection that proves, with its wonderful variety and remarkable human touch, that Nobody Does Christmas Like the Russians. New Year's tree / Mikhail Zoshchenko—Boys / Anton Chekhov—Christmas tree and a wedding / Fyodor Dostoevsky—At Christmastide / Anton Chekhov—Dream of the young tsar / Lev Tolstoy—Makar's dream / Vladimir Korolenko—Woman's kingdom / Anton Chekhov—Distant Christmas eve / Klaudia Lukashevich—Little boy at Christ's Christmas tree / Fyodor Dostoevsky—Christmas phantoms / Maxim Gorky—Lifeless animal / Teffi—My last Christmas / Mikhail Zoshchenko.