Leo Tolstoy
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?
The title novella in this collection of stories from literary master Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata, unleashed a firestorm of controversy upon its original publication. The story seeks to unpack the complex relationship between sex and love, and in it, Tolstoy makes a number of arguments about intimacy that were considered shocking in the context of nineteenth-century morals and mores. This collection is a wonderful introduction to Tolstoy's
...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.
The Russian novelist and moral philosopher Leo Tolstoy (18281910) ranks as one of the world's great writers, and his "War and Peace" has been called the greatest novel ever written. The purpose of all true creative art, he believed, is to teach. But the message in all his stories is presented with such humour that the reader hardly realises that it is strongly didactic.The seven parts into which this book is divided include the best known Tolstoy
...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
...Written eight years after the publication of Anna Karenina—a time during which, despite the global success of his novels, Leo Tolstoy renounced fiction in favor of religious and philosophical tracts—The Death of Ivan Ilych represents perhaps the most keenly realized melding of Tolstoy’s spirituality with his artistic skills.
Here in a vibrant new translation, the tale of a judge...
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.
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.
10) Resurrection
Tolstoy's last major work, the novel Resurrection, offers a probing critique of the social institutions and mores that resulted in so much injustice in the author's era. The protagonist, the well-born Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov, repents for contributing to the wrongful conviction and exile of an innocent chambermaid. In his quest to set things right, he finds out that virtually everything he has believed about the world around him has turned
...11) 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.
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.
13) 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...
14) 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?
15) 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.
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.
17) 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.