War and Peace (Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude)

By Leo Tolstoi

Considered one of the greatest novels ever written, “War and Peace” masterfully captures an intimate view of humanity on an epic scale. In this sweeping narrative, Tolstoy utilizes a large cast of characters to brilliantly depict the impact of war on society. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel centers its story on five aristocratic Russian families. These characters, particularly Count Pyotr Kirillovich (Pierre) Bezukhov, Prince Andrey Nikolayevich Bolkonsky, and Countess Natalya Ilyinichna (Natasha) Rostova, demonstrate different human struggles that are affected by their history, present era, and culture. They simultaneously develop the concepts on which Tolstoy expounds in the thematic essays interspersed throughout the narrative. “War and Peace” is a work so groundbreaking that it was not even considered a novel when first published in 1865. In redefining the fictional genre, Tolstoy’s genius has explored the human condition with a sensibility that is reflective of the nature and spirit of Russia itself. This edition follows the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781420953510

Leo Tolstoi

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.