This 1882 collection consolidates the literary output of Lev Tolstoy, organizing his major novels, short fiction, and emerging pedagogical essays. It contains the complete narrative of the Napoleonic Wars in War and Peace, detailing the lives of the Bolkonsky and Rostov families against the backdrop of the 1812 French invasion. The volumes include the psychological study of Anna Karenina’s social decline and Levin’s agricultural theories. Early autobiographical works like Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth appear alongside Sevastopol Sketches, which document the realities of the Crimean siege through direct military observation.
Historians and students of Russian literature use this edition to track the transition from Tolstoy’s early romanticism to his later preoccupation with Christian anarchism and non-violence. Readers encounter a realistic portrayal of nineteenth-century agrarian life and aristocratic bureaucracy. Those interested in the development of the European novel find examples of psychological interiority and massive structural webs. The collection provides the reader with a chronological record of how a single author moved from secular storytelling to rigorous moral philosophy and radical social criticism.
Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1882
- Language
- EN
