Ernest J. Simmons produced remarkably detailed biographies of three major Russian writers and described the tradition of nineteenth-century Russian realism for both specialists and general readers. Simmons's major works include a biography of Aleksandr Pushkin and an impressive critical study of Fyodor Dostoyevski's Fiction. But his most enduring contributions to Russian studies are undoubtedly his massive biographies of Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov, to which later scholars will always be indebted.

Ernest Joseph Simmons was born on 8 December 1903 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Mark and Annie McKinnon Simmons. His father died when Simmons was Five. Simmons worked at odd jobs during high school and throughout his seven years as a student at Harvard University, where he earned his B.A. in 1925, his M.A. in 1926, and his Ph.D. in 1928. He taught English and Russian literature at Harvard from 1929 to 1940, rising from instructor to assistant professor.

Simmons's initial literary...