Leo Tolstoy
Although Tolstoy is best known as a master of literary fiction, he was also an important thinker with a voracious and wide-ranging intellect. In this extended look at the intersection between science and art, Tolstoy frames his own creative process in the context of thousands of years of Western philosophy.
Renowned Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was never one to shy away from complex or unpopular ideas. In the title story of this exquisite collection, named for one of Beethoven's most intricate works, Tolstoy crafts a tale of murder and jealousy, using it to explore the morality of romantic love. Fans of classic literature will not be disappointed.
An alternate translation of Tolstoy's classic novella, Family Happiness, this tale revisits a theme that resonates throughout Tolstoy's work and is perhaps best elucidated in Anna Karenina: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." A young woman who is still reeling from the death of her mother agrees to be wed to a much older family friend, but soon finds out that married life is not all it's
...Sometimes even the smallest and most seemingly trivial actions can have the most disastrous consequences. That's the idea that Russian literary master Leo Tolstoy explores in depth in the title tale in this collection, The Forged Coupon. This anthology brings together some of Tolstoy's finest short stories and novellas, and it is sure to please long-time fans of his work or new readers looking for an accessible entry point from which to
...Today, Leo Tolstoy is best remembered for his masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina, both epic, sweeping works that unfold on a grand scale. But Tolstoy also dabbled in short-form fiction, and the results are similarly remarkable. This volume brings together a number of Tolstoy's shorter pieces, including A Russian Proprietor and The Three Deaths.
7) The Kingdom of God Is Within You: Christianity Not as a Mystic Religion But as a New Theory of Life
Initially banned in his home country The Kingdom of God Is Within You is Leo Tolstoy's great non-fictional work. The zenith of Tolstoy's thirty years of Christian thinking, it sets out a plan for a new society guided by a literal Christian interpretation. Christ conceived of a society based on love, compassion and tolerance, and Tolstoy believed this was incompatible with violence. Tolstoy's response is the principle of nonresistance in
...8) My Religion
Leo Tolstoy is widely recognized as one of the most important fiction writers of the modern era. What's less widely known, however, is that Tolstoy was a devout Christian who read deeply in the subjects of religious philosophy and theology and, over the course of his lifetime, came to devise his own unique take on Christianity. This volume offers an overview of the author's religious views and practices.
9) Childhood
Widely regarded as one of the most talented novelists the world has ever produced, Leo Tolstoy began his work in long-form fiction with a series of three novels based loosely on his own life experiences. In Childhood, Tolstoy recounts the innocent joys of his early life and the gradual progression toward a more cynical, mature adult view of the world—a process that the author regards as tragic.
This masterful novel is a religious fable of sorts, written by the gifted Russian author Leo Tolstoy as a means of shedding light on the hypocrisy inherent in many aspects of organized religion in the nineteenth century. The book follows the plight of Russian aristocrat Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov as he seeks absolution—both in the church and in his own psyche—for a sin he committed years earlier.
11) Resurrection
This poignant study of spiritual regeneration recounts the sins of a Russian nobleman, Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov, and his attempts in later life to redress his transgressions. Tolstoy conducts readers on a harrowing voyage through Russia's corrupt courts and foul prisons that culminates in a ruthless march to Siberia. A powerful depiction of the injustices of the legal system, the novel assails the vices of petty officialdom and the hypocrisy
...12) Boyhood
Leo Tolstoy, author of such masterpieces of fiction as War and Peace and Anna Karenina, also wrote extensively about his own life experiences. In this series of essays, Tolstoy presents a creatively re-imagined version of his earliest recollections and influences.
13) What to Do?
Today, Leo Graf Tolstoy is regarded as one of world's foremost masters of prose. In his lifetime, he was responsible for creating such works of genius as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In addition to his keen insight into the small details of family life, Tolstoy had a penetrating perspective on the sweeping social trends facing Russia and the world at large. Both themes are explored at length in What to Do?
A young man, Olenin, is stationed in the Caucasus, where he falls in love with the place, the people, and the simple way of life. Though he has fallen in love with the betrothed of a man he has befriended, he believes that he can be self-sacrificing, until a fellow Russian brings the complexity of Moscow-thinking back to Olenin.
Settle in with a collection of tales from the pen of one of the world's most acclaimed authors, Leo Tolstoy. The stories brought together in What Men Live By and Other Tales tackle heady philosophical questions in an engaging, easy-to-read, almost fable-like format, highlighting Tolstoy's unique genius.
16) Father Sergius
A young man of great affluence and potential is set to be wed, but on the night before the ceremony, he discovers that his wife-to-be has betrayed him. He commits himself to a religious life in order to recover from the profound shock, but despite an ever-increasing reputation for holiness and piety, Father Sergius remains racked by doubt and unhappiness throughout his life. Will he ever find true enlightenment and freedom from his past?
17) Master and Man
This short story from renowned Russian author Leo Tolstoy takes on an almost fable-like quality in its stark simplicity and moral truth. A wealthy man's greed and avarice lead him to treat his servant in a spectacularly cruel manner. Will he continue with his evil ways, or will he have a change of heart before it's too late?
18) Android Karenina
“ . . . lives up to its promise to make Tolstoy ‘awesomer.’”—The Onion AV Club
It’s been called the greatest novel ever written. Now, Tolstoy’s timeless saga of love and betrayal is transported...
19) War and peace
Napoleon's turbulent history with Russia including his doomed 1812 invasion provides the setting for Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Often referred to as the greatest novel of all time, Tolstoy's classic follows the tumultuous personal lives of two aristocratic families touching on all of the great human epochs; youth, matrimony, age and death.