Leo: 1933 books

'If life could write, it would write like Tolstoy.' Isaac Babel Tolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys, of Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei,...

Published in 1884 The kingdom of God is within you is perhaps Tolstoys most significant work of non-fiction. Due to the Russian censors it was first published in Germany but its dominant idea of non-violence echoed across the international stage throughout the 20th century.In essence the book is a...

The last novel written by Tolstoy, "Resurrection" was first published in 1899 amidst huge anticipation. What surprised the world was Tolstoy's story of a guilt-ridden nobleman, haunted by the sins of his past and seeking a way to atone for them. The aristocratic Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov serves...

My Religion carries on from where A Confession left off. Describing himself as a former nihilist Tolstoy develops his attack on the church he has left. He accuses them of hiding the true meaning of Jesus which is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount; and most clearly in the call not to resist evil....

Written in 1883, 'The Gospel in brief' is Tolstoy's harmonization of the four Christian gospels into one. So now we have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John - and Tolstoy. It is, he says, 'an examination of Christian teaching not according to the church's interpretations, but solely according to what has come...

Anna Karenina in half the time Anna Karenina is the heart-wrenching tale of a woman who recklessly throws away everything she has for a passionate affair with a young soldier. Beautiful, popular, wife to a wealthy man and mother to an adored son, Anna seems to be in an enviable position. However,...

With the resumption of Russia's military action in Chechnya in the 1990s, Hadji Murad gains new relevance, and anyone following global terrorism today will find Tolstoy's description of the nineteenth-century war all too familiar. The work provides a wealth of information about the Caucasus and on one...

«Анна Каренина» (1873—1877; журнальная публикация 1875—1877; первое книжное издание 1878) — роман Льва Толстого о трагической влюблённости замужней дамы Анны Карениной в блестящего...

The 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...

"The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories that includes "The Invaders" (or "The Raid"),"The Wood-Cutting Expedition," "Three Deaths," "Polikushka," "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," "After the Ball," and "The Forged Coupon." The most famous and superbly written of these...

'no one pitied him as he would have liked to be pitied' As Ivan Ilyich lies dying he begins to re-evaluate his life, searching for meaning that will make sense of his sufferings. In 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' and the other works in this volume, Tolstoy conjures characters who, tested to the limit,...

'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...

What is religion? is a collection of articles and letters written by the mature Tolstoy of 1901 and 1902. Published originally by the Free Age Press it features all his trademark clarity and insight. Contained here is a wide variety of subject matter including a look at the causes of social inequality...

“Family Happiness” is Tolstoy’s ironically-titled novella about a young seventeen-year-old girl who marries a much older man. Initially distressed to find that her naïve conception of marriage did not adequately prepare her for the complexities her new life, Mashechka becomes corrupted by the...