This 1899 multivolume collection compiles the major literary output of Count Lev Tolstoy, encompassing his psychological epics, shorter fiction, and philosophical treatises. It includes the sweeping narratives of the Napoleonic Wars in War and Peace and the domestic tragedies of Anna Karenina, alongside his later moral parables and religious essays. The text presents his detailed studies of the Russian aristocracy, the lives of peasants, and the intricacies of human motivation. It also contains his critiques of state institutions and organized religion, focusing on non-resistance to evil.
Historians and students of Russian literature read these volumes to analyze the evolution of nineteenth-century realism and the development of Christian anarchism. Readers look for specific observations on military strategy, social hierarchy, and the internal struggle between individual desire and social duty. A reader walks away with a technical understanding of Tolstoy’s narrative techniques and a detailed portrait of the cultural and political shifts occurring in Russia prior to the twentieth century.
Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1899
- Language
- EN
