Alexander Shirvanzade was born in the family of a tailor. At the age of 17 he went to work in Baku, worked as a clerk, accountant. He gained fame published in 1898 by the novel "Chaos," describing the life of a big city. In 1905-1910 Shirvanzade lived in Paris, in 1910-1919 - in Tbilisi, then again went abroad. The writer welcomed the October Revolution of 1917, admired the achievements of Soviet Armenia. In 1926 he returned to his homeland, became one of the creators of Armenian Soviet literature. He spoke at the 1st Congress of Soviet Writers. The two-volume book presents selected works of the classic of Armenian literature.