Books by Leo Tolstoy

Book SynopsisTranslated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. Introduction and Notes by E.B. Greenwood, University of Kent. Anna Karenina is one of the most loved and memorable heroines of literature. Her overwhelming charm dominates a novel of unparalleled richness and density. Tolstoy considered this book to be his first real attempt at a novel form, and it addresses the very nature of society at all levels,- of destiny, death, human relationships and the irreconcilable contradictions of existence. It ends tragically, and there is much that evokes despair, yet set beside this is an abounding joy in life's many ephemeral pleasures, and a profusion of comic relief.

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Book SynopsisTolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. In this revised and updated version of the definitive and highly acclaimed Maude translation, Tolstoy's genius and the power of his prose are made newly available to the contemporary reader.

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Book SynopsisWar and Peace is a vast epic centred on Napoleon's war with Russia. While it expresses Tolstoy's view that history is an inexorable process which man cannot influence, he peoples his great novel with a cast of over five hundred characters. Three of these, the artless and delightful Natasha Rostov, the world-weary Prince Andrew Bolkonsky and the idealistic Pierre Bezukhov illustrate Tolstoy's philosophy in this novel of unquestioned mastery. This translation is one which received Tolstoy's approval.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Dr T.C.B.Cook. Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is best known for War and Peace and Anna Karenina, commonly regarded as amongst the greatest novels ever written. He also, however, wrote many masterly short stories, and this volume contains four of the longest and best in distinguished translations that have stood the test of time. In the early story Family Happiness, Tolstoy explores courtship and marriage from the point of view of a young wife. In The Kreutzer Sonata he gives us a terrifying study of marital breakdown, in The Devil a powerful depiction of the power of sexual temptation, and, in perhaps the finest of all, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, he portrays the long agony of a man gradually coming to terms with his own mortality. This volume also includes an Introduction and Notes written specially for this Wordsworth edition by Dr Tim Cook, formely lecturer in literature at the Universities of Kingston and Ulster. Previous work contributed by Dr Cook for Wordsworth includes an introduction and notes to Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby.

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Book Synopsis''It is only a bruise''A carefree Russian official has what seems to be a trivial accident...One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics'' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.Trade Review “The English-speaking world is indebted to these two translators.” —Orlando Figes, The New York Review of Books “Excellent. . . . The duo has managed to convey the rather simple elegance of Tolstoy’s prose.” —The New Criterion “Pevear and Volokhonsky’s new version is . . . flexible individuated, immediate.” —The Nation“Well translated. As a lover of Tolstoy’s work, one couldn’t ask for more, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.” —André Alexis, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

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Book Synopsis''One of the greatest love stories in world literature'' Vladimir NabokovThe heroine of Tolstoy''s epic of love and self-destruction, Anna Karenina has beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son, but feels that her life is empty until she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike, and brings jealousy and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life - and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. This award-winning translation has been acclaimed as the definitive English version of Tolstoy''s masterpiece.Translated by RICHARD PEVEAR and LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY with a Preface by JOHN BAYLEY

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Book SynopsisTolstoy's epic novel focuses on the chaos of battle, the horror of death and bloodshed, and the expression of the noble virtues of love and valour.

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Book SynopsisThis powerful novel, Tolstoy’s third major masterpiece, after War and Peace and Anna Karenina, begins with a courtroom drama (the finest in Russian literature) all the more stunning for being based on a real-life event. Dmitri Nekhlyudov, called to jury service, is astonished to see in the dock, charged with murder, a young woman whom he once seduced, propelling her into prostitution. She is found guilty on a technicality, and he determines to overturn the verdict. This pitches him into a hellish labyrinth of Russian courts, prisons and bureaucracy, in which the author loses no opportunity for satire and bitter criticism of a state system (not confined to that country) of cruelty and injustice. This is Dickens for grown-ups, involving a hundred characters, Crime and Punishment brought forward half a century. With unforgettable set-pieces of sexual passion, conflict and social injustice, Resurrection proceeds from brothel to court-room, stinking cells to offices of state, luxury apartments to filthy life in Siberia. The ultimate crisis of moral responsibility embroils not only the famous author and his hero, but also you and me. Can we help resolve the eternal issues of law and imprisonment?

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Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy''s last completed novel, Resurrection is an intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger and forgiveness, translated from the Russian with an introduction and notes by Anthony Briggs in Penguin Classics.Serving on the jury at a murder trial, Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is devastated when he sees the prisoner - Katyusha, a young maid he seduced and abandoned years before. As Dmitri faces the consequences of his actions, he decides to give up his life of wealth and luxury to devote himself to rescuing Katyusha, even if it means following her into exile in Siberia. But can a man truly find redemption by saving another person? Tolstoy''s most controversial novel, Resurrection (1899) is a scathing indictment of injustice, corruption and hypocrisy at all levels of society. Creating a vast panorama of Russian life, from peasants to aristocrats, bureaucrats to convicts, it reveals Tolstoy''s magnificent storytelling powers.Anthony Briggs'' superb new t

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Book SynopsisThe ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy's artistic prowess displayed over five decades - experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, 'The Two Hussars' contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy's belief that art must serve a moral purpose, 'What Men Live By' portrays an angel sent to earth to learn three existential rules of life, and 'Two Old Men' shows a peasant abandoning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to help his neighbours. And in the highly moving 'Master and Man', Tolstoy depicts a mercenary merchant travelling with his unprotesting servant through a blizzard to close a business deal - little realizing he may soon have to settle accounts with his maker.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Cl

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Book Synopsis''It is impossible to explain why Yevgeny chose Liza Annenskaya, as it is always impossible to explain why a man chooses this and not that woman.''This collection of eleven stories spans virtually the whole of Tolstoy''s creative life. While each is unique in form, as a group they are representative of his style, and touch on the central themes that surface in War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Stories as different as ''The Snowstorm'', ''Lucerne'', ''The Diary of a Madman'', and ''The Devil'' are grounded in autobiographical experience. They deal with journeys of self-discovery and the moral and religious questioning that characterizes Tolstoy''s works of criticism and philosophy. ''Strider'' and ''Father Sergy'', as well as reflecting Tolstoy''s own experiences, also reveal profound psychological insights.These stories range over much of the Russian world of the nineteenth century, from the nobility to the peasantry, the military to the clergy, from merchants and cobblers to a horse anTable of ContentsThe Snowstorm ; Lucerne ; Three Deaths ; Polikushka ; Strider: The Story of a Horse ; God See the Truth, But Waits ; The Notes of a Madman ; Where Love Is, God Is ; The Devil ; Father Sergy ; After the Ball

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Book SynopsisOffers a pair of short stories about greed, charity, life and death from one of Russia's most influential writers and thinkers.

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Book SynopsisMany believe Anna Karenina to be the greatest novel ever written. The impossible and destructive triangle of Anna, her husband Karenin, and her lover Vronsky, is set against the marriage of Levin and Kitty, illuminating the most important questions which beset humanity. This edition uses Louise and Aylmer Maude's classic translation - still unsurpassed - and is printed here with a new introduction and detailed annotation.

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Book SynopsisInspirational Wisdom for Every Day in a Classic Daybook—"An excellent gift . . . A fine inspirational" (Midwest Book Review) During the last years of his life, Leo Tolstoy kept one book invariably on his desk, read and reread it to his family, and recommended it to all his friends: a compendium of wise thoughts gathered over the course of a decade from his wide‑ranging readings in philosophy and religion, and from his own spiritual meditations. Thoughtful Wisdom for Every Day comprises Tolstoy’s own most essential ideas about spirituality and what it is to live a good life. Designed to be a cycle of daily readings, this book offers thoughts and aphorisms for every day, following a succession of themes repeated each month—such as God, the soul, desire, faith, our passions, humility, inequality, evil, truth, happiness, and the blessings of love. Comforting, challenging, and inspiring, this is a spiritual treasure trove and a book of great warmth.Trade Review“A fine inspirational . . . An excellent gift.”—Midwest Book Review”Using this daybook thoughtfully throughout the year will assure a positive answer to December’s last day’s wisdom: 'I think our first rule in this life should be: Always be happy and joyful.”—Prairie Messenger ”Not simply ideas, but rich statements that suggest Tolstoy’s notions of collective responsibility and edification . . . The insights are not offered as conclusions but launching pads for our own considerations.”—Raleigh News & Observer ”A guide to a deeper, more thoughtful life . . . This is a book you’ll want to keep on your bedside table or on your desk.”—Light of Consciousness ”A treasury of timeless wisdom.”—Catholic Digest ”Brief yet profound reflections.”—Watertown Daily Times ”This lovely daybook contains . . . Tolstoy’s vast knowledge of human ways and life experiences in a succinct but flowing style. . . . Direct and crisp.”—New Age Retailer ”Tolstoy’s deep spirituality, his focus on love, temptation, and other subjects . . . Perhaps this genius spent his last years trying to reconnect us to these elemental forces because he saw that our lines to them were fraying.”—Odessa American

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Book SynopsisTrapped in a stifling marriage, Anna Karenina is swept off her feet by dashing Count Vronsky. Rejected by society, the two lovers flee to Italy, where Anna finds herself isolated from all except the man she loves, and who loves her. But can they live by love alone? In this novel of astonishing scope and grandeur, Leo Tolstoy, the great master of Russian literature, charts the course of the human heart.A masterpiece of realism and illuminated by irresistible characters, Anna Karenina is among the best-loved of all novels, penetrating to the heart of the ruling class in Tsarist Russia. This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition of Anna Karenina is translated by Aylmer & Louise Maude, and features an afterword by Ned Halley.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisHere are some of Tolstoy's extraordinary short stories, from The Death of Ivan Ilyich. in a masterly new translation, to The Raid, The Wood-felling, Three Deaths, Polikushka, After the Ball, and The Forged Coupon, all gripping and eloquent lessons on two of Tolstoy's most persistent themes: life and death. More experimental than his novels, Tolstoy's stories are essential reading for anyone interested in his development as one of the major writers and thinkers of his time.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Book SynopsisTolstoy’s most famous novella is an intense and moving examination of death and the possibilities of redemption, here in a powerful translation by the award-winning Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.Ivan Ilyich is a middle-aged man who has spent his life focused on his career as a bureaucrat and emotionally detached from his wife and children. After an accident he finds himself on the brink of an untimely death, which he sees as a terrible injustice. Face to face with his mortality, Ivan begins to question everything he has believed about the meaning of life. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a masterpiece of psychological realism and philosophical profundity that has inspired generations of readers.

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Book SynopsisDuring his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticizes the elitist nature of art in nineteenth-century Western society, and rejects the idea that its sole purpose should be the creation of beauty. The works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire and Wagner are all vigorously condemned, as Tolstoy explores what he believes to be the spiritual role of the artist - arguing that true art must work with religion and science as a force for the advancement of mankind.Table of ContentsWhat Is Art? - Leo Tolstoy Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky with a Preface by Richard PevearPrefaceBibliographical NoteA Note on the TextWHAT IS ART?Appendix IAppendix IINotes

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Book SynopsisSet against the backdrop of Russian high society, this novel charts the course of the doomed love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer who pursues Anna after becoming infatuated with her at a ball.Trade ReviewOne of the greatest love stories in world literature -- Vladimir NabokovTolstoy's historical and human sweep is breathtaking. His vision, humanity and his knowledge that love and pain are at the heart of life is the most important of all the profound truths revealed in this great novel -- Jonathan DimblebyIn Anna Karenina, Tolstoy got totally inside the mind of a woman who is prepared to lose everything for the sake of man and who is so much in love that she commits suicide. I don't like her as a woman, but I think it is a brilliant portrait, unequalled in literature -- Amanda Craig * Independent *I've read and re-read this novel and every time I find another layer in the story -- Philippa GregoryI first read Anna Karenina 20 years ago when travelling across the Peruvian desert on a long bus journey, and it has stayed with me ever since -- Hugh Thomson * Independent *

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Book SynopsisResurrection (1899) is the last of Tolstoy''s major novels. It tells the story of a nobleman''s attempt to redeem the suffering his youthful philandering inflicted on a peasant girl who ends up a prisoner in Siberia.Tolstoy''s vision of redemption achieved through loving forgiveness, and his condemnation of violence, dominate the novel. An intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger, and forgiveness, Resurrection is at the same time a panoramic description of social life in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century, reflecting its author''s outrage at the social injustices of the world in which he lived.This edition, which updates a classic translation, has explanatory notes and a substantial introduction based on the most recent scholarship in the field. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewTolstoy magisterially condemns society's social inequities by holding a mirror up to its flawed face; gripping and sombre. * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy began his trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, Youth, in his early twenties. Although he would in his old age famously dismiss it as an ''awkward mixture of fact and fiction'', generations of readers have not agreed, finding the novel to be a charming and insightful portrait of inner growth against the background of a world limned with extraordinary clarity, grace and colour. Evident too in its brilliant account of a young person''s emerging awareness of the world and of his place within it are many of the stances, techniques and themes that would come to full flower in the immortal War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and in the other great works of Tolstoy''s maturity.Trade ReviewTolstoy's first published work, Childhood, is unquestionably one of his most engaging and profound narratives, and he followed it in short order with the other two parts of the trilogy. We have several competent English translations, but none of them comes close to matching Judson Rosengrant's in capturing the young writer's astonishing precision, stylistic variety, and range of moods [...] The introduction breaks new critical ground in presenting Tolstoy's language and thought. The deft, unpretentious annotations are the most thorough in any English-language edition. I cannot think of a better place to start for new readers of Tolstoy, or a more insightful, enjoyable refresher for experienced Tolstoyans -- William Mills Todd III, Harvard UniversityThis superb new translation of the early trilogy, intelligently introduced, is a miracle of persuasive storytelling -- Caryl Emerson, Princeton UniversityJudson Rosengrant's stunning new translation of Leo Tolstoy's first literary masterpiece reveals the Russian novelist's talent in all its startling and visionary originality [...] Rosengrant's Childhood, Boyhood, Youth is an example of the art of translation at its finest, combining critical acumen, a specialist's understanding of Tolstoy's art, and a profound sympathy with the original's subtle narrative 'moods,' shifting melodies of language, and deployment of stylistic registers. Thanks to Rosengrant's passionate respect for the integrity of the text and the power of the precisely chosen word to illuminate experience, Tolstoy has found an English voice worthy of his own. -- Lena M Lencek, Reed College

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Book SynopsisWritten over a period of more than half a century, Tolstoy’s enchanting short stories and novellas reflect every aspect of his developing art and outlook. Volume 1 of the Everyman Collected Shorter Fiction is dominated by the characteristic experiences of his early life as soldier, land-owner, husband and father, the life which shaped Anna Karenina and War and Peace. It also includes several short fables which point to his later preoccupation with the religious life. Volume 2 reveals how these spiritual intimations flowered into a series of extraordinary late masterpieces which equal anything in the earlier novels for intensity and power. Readers of The Death of Ivan Ilych, The Kreutzer Sonata, Father Sergius, Master and Man and Hadji Murad will recognize the brilliant younger novelist, now transfigured by his passionate quest for salvation and forgiveness.

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Book SynopsisThis is a three-volume boxed set of Tolstoy's historical chronicle of Russia's struggle with Napoleon. The novel is an affirmation of life itself, focusing on the lives of individuals and the physical reality of human experience and its bewildering complexity.

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Book SynopsisOne of Tolstoy’s last published works of fiction, The Devil revolves around the young landowner Yevgeny’s irrepressible lust for Stepanida, a sensual peasant woman. Even when he gets married to a respectable upper-class lady, he finds himself unable to put an end to his encounters with Stepanida, and becomes increasingly consumed by guilt and helplessness in the face of his urges. In some ways comparable to the controversial Kreutzer Sonata, The Devil shows Tolstoy at his most salacious, and addresses the conflicts between desire, social norms and personal conscience. Also included in this volume is Family Happiness, one of Tolstoy’s earliest works, an entertaining and cynical account of marriage from the perspective of a disillusioned wife, and A Landowner’s Morning.

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Book SynopsisHadji Murat, one of the most feared and venerated mountain chiefs in the Caucasian struggle against the Russians, defects from the Muslim rebels after feuding with his ruling imam, Shamil. Hoping to protect his family, he joins the Russians, who accept him but never put their trust in him – and so Murat must find another way to end the struggle. Tolstoy knew as he was writing this, his last work of fiction, that it would not be published in his lifetime, and so gave an uncompromising portrayal of the Russians’ faults and the nature of the rebels’ struggle. In the process, he shows a mastery of style and an understanding of Chechnya that still carries great resonance today.Trade ReviewMy personal touchstone for the sublime of prose fiction, to me the best story in the world. -- Harold BloomAs I read Hadji Murat again, I thought: this is the man one should learn from. Here the electric charge went from the earth, through the hands, straight to the paper, with no insulation, quite mercilessly stripping off any and all outer shrouds with a sense of truth – a truth, furthermore, which was clothed in garments both transparent and beautiful. -- Isaac Babel

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Book SynopsisOver the last fifteen years of his life, Tolstoy collected and published the maxims of some of the world’s greatest masters of philosophy, religion and literature, adding his own contributions to various questions that preoccupied him in old age, such as faith and existence, as well as matters of everyday life. Banned in Russia under Communism, A Calendar of Wisdom was Tolstoy’s last major work, and one of his most popular both during and after his lifetime. This new translation by Roger Cockrell will offer today’s generation of readers the chance to discover, day by day, these edifying and carefully selected pearls of wisdom.Trade ReviewSomeone who can see so much and so fully does not need to invent anything; someone who observes so poetically does not need to compose anything. For Tolstoy beauty and truth are one and the same thing. -- Stefan Zweig

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Book SynopsisA collection of short fiction by the distinguished Russian writer includes the story Alyosha the Pot, as well as such novellas as The Cossacks, The Death of Ivan Ilych, Family Happiness, Master and Man, The Devil, The Kreutzer Sonata, Father Serguis, and Hadgi Maurat. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

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Book Synopsis''If you''ve never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don''t read War and Peace, you live it'' The Times Tolstoy''s enthralling epic depicts Russia''s war with Napoleon and its effects on the lives of those caught up in the conflict. He creates some of the most vital and involving characters in literature as he follows the rise and fall of families in St Petersburg and Moscow who are linked by their personal and political relationships. His heroes are the thoughtful yet impulsive Pierre Bezukhov, his ambitious friend, Prince Andrei, and the woman who becomes indispensable to both of them, the enchanting Natasha Rostov.It is simply the greatest novel ever written. All human life is in it. If I were told there was time to read only a single book, this would be it' Andrew MarrTrade ReviewIf you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it * The Times *This is, at last, a translation of War and Peace without the dreadful misunderstandings and "improvements" that plague all other translations of the novel into English. Pevear and Volokhonsky's supple and compelling translation is the closest that an English reader without Russian can get to Tolstoy's masterwork. This is a great achievement. It is hard to imagine how this translation could be superseded." -- Vladimir E. Alexandrov, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures,It is simply the greatest novel ever written. All human life is in it. If I were told there was time to read only a single book, this would be it -- Andrew MarrReveals Tolstoy in his majestic scope and precision to this reader for the first time, unencumbered by the pidgin archaisms of previous translations, ringing with mastery and truth * Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year *It may sound pretentious, or strange, but I can remember the weeks (three weeks, to be precise) I spent reading War and Peace as a peak experience of sustained excitement and deep delight. Part of the delight was the largeness and strangeness of this world - the sense of the vastness and extremes of Russia, the unboundedness of everything * Finacial Times *

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Book Synopsis''As good as anything Tolstoy ever wrote... Self-assured, vital, unforgettable'' Guardian The title story of this collection is about a man battling a mysterious illness. His family visit his bedside, their faces masks of concern. His colleagues pay their respects but only think of the advantages created by his death. This intensely moving story of Ivan Ilyich''s lonely end is one of the masterpieces of Tolstoy''s late fiction.The ten other stories in this collection include ''The Kreutzer Sonata'', ''The Devil'', and ''Hadji Murat'' which has been described by Harold Bloom as ''the best story in the world''.Trade ReviewAs good as anything Tolstoy ever wrote... Self-assured, vital, unforgettable * Guardian *The simplicity and power of this novella, the story of the terrible encroachment of death on a shallow man spiritually unprepared for it, has staggered millions * Sunday Telegraph *I don't read Russian, but I think Tolstoy's writing comes over whatever translation you read...he wrote the great, terrible story The Death of Ivan Illyich -- Redmond O'Hanlon * Independent *An indubitable masterpiece -- Yann MartelFor me, the best insight into the process of dying comes from Leo Tolstoy in his short story, The Death of Ivan Ilych, which examines the life and death of the most ordinary man -- Oliver James * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTolstoy's passionate and iconoclastic writings--on issues of faith, immortality, freedom, violence, and morality--reflect his intellectual search for truth and a religion firmly grounded in reality. The selection includes 'A Confession,' 'Religion and Morality,' 'What Is Religion, and of What Does Its Essence Consist?,' and 'The Law of Love and the Law of Violence.'For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsA Confession and Other Religious Writings IntroductionA ConfessionWhat Is Religion and Of What Does Its Essence Consist?Religion and MoralityThe Law of Love and the Law of ViolenceExplanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisThese short works, ranging from Tolstoy's earliest tales to the brilliant title story, are rich in the insights and passion that characterize all of his explorations in love, war, courage, and civilization.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsHow Much Land Does a Man Need?Introduction by A. N. WilsonThe WoodfellingTwo HussarsHow Much Land Does a Man Need?Where Love Is, God IsWhat Men Live ByNeglect a Spark and the House Burns DownThe Two Old MenThe RaidA Prisoner of the Caucasus

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Book SynopsisA major new translation of the classic work interweaves the stories of an idealist, a cynical intellectual, and a count''s daughter against a backdrop of Napoleon''s invasion of Russia, in a volume that attempts to resolve ambiguities of other modern translations and is complemented by character listings, battle descriptions, and chapter summaries. Reprint.Trade Review“There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?” —Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisTolstoy's powerful semiautobiographical stories based on his time spent in the Russian army, part of our series of fresh new Tolstoy translations In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army. The four years he spent as a soldier were among the most significant in his life and inspired the tales collected here. In The Cossacks, Tolstoy tells the story of Olenin, a cultured Russian whose experiences among the Cossack warriors of Central Asia leave him searching for a more authentic life. The Sevastopol Sketches bring into stark relief the realities of military life during the Crimean War. And Hadji Murat paints a portrait of a great leader torn apart by divided loyalties. In writing about individuals and societies in conflict, Tolstoy has penned some of the most brilliant stories about the nature of war.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700Table of ContentsThe Cossacks and Other StoriesChronologyIntroductionA Note on the TextsMapsThe CossacksSevastopol StoriesSevastopol in DecemberSevastopol in MaySevastopol in August 1855Hadji MuratNotesGlossary

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Book SynopsisA collection of some of Tolstoy''s most powerful powerful storiesThe violent spiritual crisis in Tolstoy''s life that inspired his last period of creativity produced the stories in this compelling and startling collection. They portray the multifaceted nature of desire, from idealistic romance to sexual jealousy, from desperate lust to relentless longing. The K reutzer Sonata caused a public sensation with its indictment of so-called Christian marriage, a theme echoed in Family Happiness. In The Devil, a young man finds it impossible to resist a beautiful peasant woman with whom he had an affair before his marriage. And Father Sergius shows a man going to increasingly desperate ends in order to avoid the temptations of the flesh.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and

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Book SynopsisDescribing Tolstoy''s crisis of depression and estrangement from the world, A Confession is an autobiographical work of exceptional emotional honesty. It describes his search for ''a practical religion not promising future bliss but giving bliss on earth''. Although the Confession led to his excommunication, it also resulted in a large following of Tolstoyan Christians springing up throughout Russia and Europe. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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Book SynopsisTolstoy''s epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition from Penguin Classics. Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life - and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. This acclaimed modern translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky won the PEN/ Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2001. Their translation is accompanied in this edition by an introduction by Richard Pevear and a preface by John Bayley ''The new and brilliantly witty translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a must'' - Lisa Appignanesi, Independent, Books of the Year ''Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English, and their superb rendering allows us, as perhaps never before, to grasp the palpability of Tolstoy''s characters, acts, situations'' - James Wood, New YorkerTrade ReviewThe new and brilliantly witty translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a must -- Lisa Appignanesi * Independent, Books of the Year *Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English, and their superb rendering allows us, as perhaps never before, to grasp the palpability of Tolstoy's "characters, acts, situations" -- James Wood * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisA Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of Tolstoy's great Russian epic. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadSet against the sweeping panoply of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, War and Peace—presented here in the first new English translation in forty years—is often considered the greatest novel ever written. At its center are Pierre Bezukhov, searching for meaning in his life; cynical Prince Andrei, ennobled by wartime suffering; and Natasha Rostov, whose impulsiveness threatens to destroy her happiness. As Tolstoy follows the changing fortunes of his characters, he crafts a view of humanity that is both epic and intimate and that continues to define fiction at its most resplendent.This edition includes an introduction, note on the translation, cast of characters, maps, notes on the major battles depicted, and chapter summaries.Praise for Antony Brigg's translation

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsFamily Happiness ; The Cossacks ; The Kreutzer Sonata ; Hadji Murad

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Book SynopsisA beautiful Penguin Classics clothbound edition of Tolstoy''s magnificent epic novel of love, conflict, fate and human life in all its imperfection and grandeur At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon''s army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey and impetuous Natasha interweave with a huge cast, from aristocrats and peasants to soldiers and Napoleon himself. In War and Peace, Tolstoy entwines grand themes - conflict and love, birth and death, free will and faith - with unforgettable scenes of nineteenth-century Russia, to create a magnificent epic of human life in all its imperfection and grandeur.Translated with an introduction and notes by Anthony Briggs, and with an afterword by Orlando Figes Anthony Briggs''s superb translation combines stirring, accessible prose with fidelity to Tolstoy''s original, while Orlando Figes''s afterword discusses the novel''s vast scope and depiction of Russian identity. This edition also contains appendices, notes, a list of prominent characters and maps.''A masterpiece ... This new translation is excellent'' - Anthony BeevorTrade ReviewA masterpiece ... this new translation is excellent -- Antony BeevorWar and Peace is like no other novel ... Tolstoy writes of both war and peace more marvellously than anyone else has done -- John Bayley * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Dmitry Andreich Olenin, in the hope of escaping the hollowness of his privilege, joins the army and heads to the Caucasus. There among the foothills he will meet the Cossacks: a people he considers to be at one with the land. In their company he will hunt, he will drink, he will fall in love and, slowly, he will begin to understand that between people, between cultures, there is often a space that cannot be traversed...''It is the richness of Tolstoy''s genius that strikes us most in this story'' Virginia Woolf

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Book Synopsis90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin BooksI'm not the sort of husband you dream of when you're walking alone along the avenue in the evening, am I? And it would be a disaster, wouldn't it?'How does love die? This question lies at the heart of Tolstoy's desperately sad novella. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Masha who, despite their differences, falls passionately in love with an older man, and marries him. Soon, however, the gap between them becomes unbridgeable.

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