When Maggie was published, society was unprepared for its grim and stark tale of a pretty young girl's fall in New York's Bowery, and its criticism of the irresponsibility of men toward women. Stephen Crane also exhibits his stunning genius in the five other stories of this collection, from the local color of small-town life to the bustle of the city to war stories full of the irony of heroism. The six make up an enduring testimony to one of America's finest writers.