The Coffee-House of Surat

Written by Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by Max Bollinger

The story is set in India, where a wealthy merchant learns the importance of compassion and selflessness through a chance encounter at a coffee house. The merchant, who is proud of his wealth and status, is humbled by a poor and contented dervish who teaches him the true meaning of happiness and fulfilment. The story highlights the theme of the pursuit of material wealth and the emptiness it can bring, versus the satisfaction and joy that come from serving others. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Jan 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787241060

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy grew up in Russia, raised by a elderly aunt and educated by French tutors while studying at Kazen University before giving up on his education and volunteering for military duty. When writing his greatest works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy drew upon his diaries for material. At eighty-two, while away from home, he suffered from declining health and died in Astapovo, Riazan in 1910.