Maximoff's father, a tinker, a traditional trade among Kalderash, taught him how to read, write and count.

In 1936, because of the Spanish Civil War, Maximoff with his mother and siblings left Spain to seek shelter among relatives in France.

In 1940, after the defeat of France in World War II and German occupation, the Maximoffs were arrested under suspicion of intelligence with the enemy, as were many other foreign refugees.

[1] He translated the Bible into Kalderash Romani language from French in 1994,[1] although only the New Testament, Ruth and Psalms were published.

Many of his other books were published into English in the late twentieth century, before his death in 1999 in France.