The spring of 1904 marked the moment when the latent conflicts that had been developing over a period of two years burst into the open. It was a difficult time. Chekhov was gravely ill and died of tuberculosis at the end of June. The Cherry Orchard was the last play he wrote for the Art Theatre. He imagined that he had a natural successor, Gorki, and indeed nothing would have been more obvious than for Gorki to become the Art Theatre's own dramatist. An unfortunate letter from Nemirovich (letter 253, pp. 194-200) destroyed all chances of that.