The first published work of fiction by legendary author

and poet Gertrude Stein, Three Lives is a collection of two

short stories and a novella focusing on the bleak existence

that faced immigrant and minority women in turn-of-the-century

America.
　　Each impoverished woman must labor as a domestic worker

to survive, and all three protagonists have their own tales of hardship.

 "The Good Anna" tells the story of a young German servant who must

 decide between loyalty to her employer and love. In "The Gentle Lena,

" another German servant girl marries the wrong man, and finds herself

trapped as a wife and mother. And the introspective "Melanctha" examines

 the tragic life of a mulatto woman and those she loved.
　　Pocket Books' Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature

enriched for the contemporary reader. This edition of Three Lives has

been prepared by Brenda Wineapple, professor of Modern Literary and

Historical Studies at Union College. It includes her introduction,

 a selection of critical excerpts, and suggestions for further reading,

as well as a unique visual essay of period illustrations and photographs.