The first russian writer to emerge from the ranks of the proletariat, Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) was born into poverty and orphaned at an early age. Entirely self-taught, he experienced firsthand the suffering, injustice, and despair which permeate his tales. Speaking for the social outcast, the downtrodden, and the oppressed, he vividly depicted the miserable lives of the lowest calsses who raged in protest against and uncaring society. His sensitivity and candor won him a devoted following.

Three of Gorky's best known works appear in this collection the title story, in which a thieving vagrant takes on a young, unwilling apprentice, "Makar Chudra," the story of an ill-fated, tempestuous romance between a pair of gypsy lovers; and "Twenty-six Men and a Girl," windely regarded as Gorky's best short story, in which a wretched crew of pretzel-makers, laboring in a damp and grimy cellar, destroy their only source of joy.

- Chelkash
- Makar Chudra
- Twenty-six Men and a Girl