The Shield (Esprios Classics) Edited by Maxim Gorky and Fyodor Sologub

Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (1871 - 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period. Andreyev's style combines elements of realist, naturalist, and symbolist schools in literature. Andreyev's first collection of short stories and short novels (повести) appeared in 1901, quickly selling a quarter-million copies and making him a literary star in Russia. In 1901 he published "Стена" ("The Wall"), and in 1902, "В тумане" ("In the Fog") and "Бездна" ("The Abyss,") which was a response to "The Kreutzer Sonata" by Leo Tolstoy.