Old Woman Izergil, The

"THE OLD WOMAN IZERGIL" is a short romantic story by Maxim Gorky. Originally published at the end of the nineteenth century, the book is composed of three chapters in the format of "a story within a story". The narration is done on behalf of the author and the heroine, the old woman Izergil. The book explores the ideas of freedom, the true meaning of life and of love. The first chapter contains the legend of Larra, the proud eagle-man rejected by human society for his egoism. In the second chapter, Izergil tells us about her many lovers and her very eventful life; including the act of throwing her lover (who verbally assaulted her) into the river and of murdering a sentinel in order to save her beloved one from possible death. The third chapter is devoted to the legend of Danko's flaming heart and explores human heroism and cowardice. This audiobook will help the listener to plunge into the bright and expressive world of Gorky's heroes. Maxim Gorky (1868 - 1936) was a Russian writer and socialist political thinker. 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, experiences which would later influence his writing.