Maxim Gorky books in order
Russian and Soviet writer
- Lived
- 1868–1936
- Country
- Russia
- Books
- 64
- Also writes as
- Максим Горький, Иегудиил Хламида
Maxim Gorky published 17 novels, 2 novellas, 9 short story collections, 12 non-fiction books, 9 plays and 15 other books, beginning with My Childhood (1913). The best-known is Mother (1920).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Maxim Gorky
Standalone novels in order
Makar Chudra (1892)
Old Arkhip and Lyonka (Feb 1894)
Foma Gordeyev (1899)
Fomá Gordyéeff (1901)
Three of Them (1902)
Mat' (1907)
A Confession (1909)
Mother (1920)
The Artamonov Business (1925)
The Story of a Novel (1925)
The Spy (1927)
Bystander (1930)
The Magnet (1931)
My Apprenticeship (1933)
The I.V. Stalin White Sea (Jan 1934), with Aleksey Tolstoy and Vera Inber
Orphan Paul (1946)
A Sky-blue Life (1961)
Novellas in order
Reminiscences of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1919)
Short story collections in order
Creatures That Once Were Men (1905)
Tales of Two Countries (1914)
Chelkash and Other Stories (1915)
Best Russian Short Stories (1917)
Stories of the Steppe (1918)
Tales of Italy (1950)
Great Short Stories of the World (1972)
Non-fiction in order
Literary Portraits (1900)
My Childhood (1913)
The Shield (1917)
Untimely Thoughts (1918)
My Universities (1923)
The History of the Civil War in the U.S.S.R (1937)
Best Short Stories of Maxim Gorky (1947)
Reminiscences of Tolstoy, Chekhov & Andreyev (1948)
Childhood (1950)
On Literature (1970)
The City of the Yellow Devil (1972)
Autobiography of Maxim Gorky (2000)
Plays in order
The Philistines (1901)
The Lower Depths (1903)
Children of the Sun (1905)
Summerfolk (1905)
Barbarians (1906)
Vassa Zheleznova (1910)
The Old Man (Gorky Play) (1915)
Yegor Bulychov and Others (1932)
Enemies (1947)
Other books in order
Malva and Other Tales (1900)
The Man Who Was Afraid (1905)
In the World (1917)
My University Days (1923)
Fragments from My Diary (Twentieth Century Classics) (1924)
Days with Lenin (1932)
Plays [by] (1936)
Creative Labour and Culture (1945)
The Artamonovs (1952)
My Childhood [by] Maxim Gorky (1960)
Four Modern Plays (1961)
Twenty Six Men and a Girl and Other Stories (1965)
Through Russia (1967)
On the Art and Craft of Writing (1972)
Gorky (1975)
Film and TV adaptations
- Foma Gordeyev (1959)Film · from Foma Gordeyev
- The Lower Depths (1936)Film · from The Lower Depths
- The Lower Depths (1957)Film · from The Lower Depths
- Letnie lyudi (1995)Film · from Summerfolk
- Mother (1990)Film · from Mat'
- Vassa Zheleznova (1953)Film · from Vassa Zheleznova
- The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938)Film · from My Childhood
- The Artamonov Business (1941)Film · from The Artamonov Business
Free to read
All free classics
About Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, popularly known as Maxim Gorky, was a Russian and Soviet writer, journalist, and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an author, he travelled widely across the Russian Empire, changing jobs frequently; these experiences would later influence his writing. He associated with fellow Russian writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov, both mentioned by Gorky in his memoirs.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Maxim Gorky FAQ
- How many books has Maxim Gorky written?
- Maxim Gorky published 17 novels, 2 novellas, 9 short story collections, 12 non-fiction books, 9 plays and 15 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Maxim Gorky's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Mother.
- What is Maxim Gorky's last book?
- The History of the Civil War in the U.S.S.R (1937).
- What is Maxim Gorky's most famous book?
- Mother (1920) is Maxim Gorky's most widely read book.
- Does Maxim Gorky write under a pen name?
- Yes: Maxim Gorky has also published as Максим Горький and Иегудиил Хламида.
- Which Maxim Gorky books have been adapted?
- 7 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Foma Gordeyev (film, 1959), The Lower Depths (film, 1936), Summerfolk (as Letnie lyudi, film, 1995) and Mat' (as Mother, film, 1990).
- Can I read Maxim Gorky's books for free?
- Yes. 17 books by Maxim Gorky are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Maxim Gorky
Ivan Bunin
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Winston Churchill
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Anton Chekhov
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H. G. Wells
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Virginia Woolf
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André Gide
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.