Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (1871-1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short story writer. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period in Russian history. Andreyev's style combines elements of realist, naturalist and symbolist schools in literature. Andreyev's plays, "adopting a transcendental outlook, treat normal and abnormal people from a position of almost unearthly aloofness." The three plays included here are The Black Maskers, The Life of Man, and The Sabine Women.