The life of gold prospectors in the American West, full of hardships and cruelty, rugged and courageous heroes, and moments of human kindness and loyalty β these are the main themes of Bret Harte's works. He was a bold journalist, a lyrical poet, and a distinctive prose writer. His literary gift was recognized immediately and, surprisingly, first of all in Russia. But it is not only the adventurous plots and colorful characters of Bret Harte's works that attract new readers to his books β perhaps it is also the triumph of justice that is present in his only novel Gabriel Conroy, as well as in his novellas and short stories.