Maksim Gorky

Maksim Gorky (1868–1936) was a Russian writer whose novels, stories, plays and autobiographical prose examine poverty, labour, conflict and human dignity. Mother follows political awakening through a working-class mother whose fear gradually gives way to solidarity and action. My Childhood begins an autobiographical sequence built from sharply observed family figures, cruelty and the young narrator’s hunger for knowledge. In the World continues that education through work and instability, while Through Russia gathers encounters that reveal the range of lives behind his social vision. Gorky’s realism does more than document hardship: it gives pride, resilience and contradiction to people often reduced to types. My Childhood is the richest personal entry; Mother provides the clearer route into his revolutionary social fiction.