Hailed as the first realistic American novel, this tragic tale and its companion piece are set in the slums of New York.

The product of a brutal father, a drunken mother, and a faithless lover, Maggie's heartbreaking degeneration is described in Crane's distinctive prose. In George's Mother we witness the loving yet selfish relationship between a son and his mother. This second story includes a brief appearance by the title character of the first.