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Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist born in 1828. A profound social and moral thinker, Tolstoy was one of the greatest writers of realistic fiction during his time. The son of a nobleman landowner, Tolstoy was orphaned at the age of 9 and taught mainly by tutors from countries like Germany and France.

At the young age of 16, he enrolled in Kazan University but quickly became dissatisfied with his studies and dropped out soon after. After a brief, futile attempt to improve the conditions of the serfs on his estate, he plunged into the dissipations of Moscow's high society.

In 1851, Tolstoy joined his brother's regiment at the Caucasus, where he first met with cossacks. He later portrayed the natural cossacks life with sympathy and poetic realism in his novel 'The Cossacks', published in 1863. Tolstoy completed two autobiographical novels during his time in the regiment and the works received instant acclaim.

Back in Saint Petersburg (now Leningrad) Tolstoy became interested in the education of peasants and started a local elementary school that fostered progressive education.

In 1862 he married 18 year old Sofya Andreyevna Bers, a member of a cultured Moscow family. In the next 15 years he raised a large family, ultimately having 19 children. During this time he also managed his estate and wrote his two most famous novels, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).

In the uniquely candid powerful novel Confession, Tolstoy described his spiritual unrest and started his long journey toward moral and social certainty. He found them in two principals of the Christian gospels: love for all human beings and resistance to the forces of evil. From within autocratic Russia, Tolstoy fearlessly attacked social inequality and coercive forms of government and church authority. His didactic essays, translated into many different languages, won hearts in many countries and from all walks of life, many of whom visited him in Russia seeking advice.

At the age of 82, increasingly tormented by the disparity between his teachings, his personal wealth and by endless fights with his wife, Tolstoy walked away from his home late one night.

He became ill three days later and died on November 20, 1910 at a remote railway station. At his death he was praised the world over for being a wonderfully moral man. That force and his timeless and universal art continue to provide inspiration today.

The Death of Ivan Ilych

Author: Leo Tolstoy

"The Death of Ivan Ilych" is a novella written by Leo Tolstoy and published in 1886. The novella is considered one of his masterpieces and was written shortly after his religious conversion in the 1870's. The story in the novella is that of a man named Ivan Ilych, who lives an unremarkable, average life, slowly … [Read more...] about The Death of Ivan Ilych

Hadji Murat

Author: Leo Tolstoy

"Hadji Murat" is a novel which differs itself by its lengths from all the other novels from Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy wrote it during the 19th century, and this novel was published postmortem, and it became a sensation in the literary world. Its length and thematic are also different from Tolstoy's other works, and it … [Read more...] about Hadji Murat

War and Peace

Author: Leo Tolstoy

"War and Peace" is an epic novel about Russian society between 1805 and 1815, just before and after the Napoleonic invasion. Considered one of the greatest books ever written, it contains 559 characters, commemorates important military battles and portrays famous historical personalities but it's main theme is the … [Read more...] about War and Peace

Resurrection

Author: Leo Tolstoy

"Resurrection" is a novel by the Russian writer Tolstoy. It was published in 1899 and it was the last significant work by Tolstoy. He idealizes the character of a Russian peasant and he has a critical opinion of the privileged aristocracy. Tolstoy wrote the most famous worldwide works such as "Anna Karenina", "War … [Read more...] about Resurrection

Anna Karenina

Author: Leo Tolstoy

"Anna Karenina" is a novel with a contemporary thematic in which the main theme is Anna's adultery because of which she get rejected from society and experiences a tragic end. Parallel to her story we follow up on the destructive love between Anna and Vronsky and the love story between Levin and Kitty based on an … [Read more...] about Anna Karenina

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