Leo Tolstoy His Life And Work

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (? ? ?), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy (September 9, 1828 - November 20, 1910) was a Russian writer, essayist, philosopher, pacifist, educational reformer, vegetarian, moral thinker, and an one of the most influential members of the Tolstoy family.

"Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was the author of such classics as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In mid-life, however, he underwent a deep moral and spiritual crisis that led him back to the gospels in an effort to conform his life to the spirit of Christ. This volume focuses on his "spiritual writings" - autobiographical reflections on his journey of faith, commentaries on the gospels, and essays, on the essence of Christianity."--BOOK JACKET.

Childhood (1852) is a novel by Leo Tolstoy. Published at the beginning of his career as a leading Russian author of his generation, Childhood is the first in a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels tracing Nikolenka’s journey from innocence to experience. As a record of the past, a nostalgic reminder of a lost world, Childhood is one of Tolstoy’s most personal works, and yet his prose shows signs of the universal religious and philosophical themes that would inspire such masterpieces as War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). A story of life and death, love and grief, Childhood is an invaluable treasure of Russian literature. “How beautiful Mamma’s face was when she smiled! It made her so infinitely more charming, and everything around her seemed to grow brighter! If in the more painful moments of my life I could have seen that smile before my eyes, I should never have known what grief is.” Devoted to his mother, Nikolenka is a young Russian boy born into prosperity. As his story unfolds, we see him experience love, grief, and anger for the first time in his life, returning us for a brief moment to our own childhoods, the bittersweet memories of good and bad things that can never return. Praised for its expressionistic style and meditative prose, Childhood won Tolstoy the attention of Russia’s literary elite, launching his career as one of the nineteenth century’s most influential artists. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Leo Tolstoy’s Childhood is a classic work of Russian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Among the late Count Tolstoy's intimate friends it is a matter for regret that, in the English language, there is no reliable biography of the great Russian teacher. In their opinion all existing works are marred by the entirely wrong standpoint from which the authors regard, and try to expound, the important facts of Tolstoy's life and the tenets of his philosophy. Paul Birukoff was one of Tolstoy's closest friends, and Tolstoy himself actually collaborated with him on this work, and selected personally the letters and other documents from which extracts have been quoted. With remarkable knowledge of his great compatriot's private life, Birukoff has also brought to his task an understanding of Tolstoy's ideals and a peculiar gift for sober, unbiased criticism.

This book is the autobiography of Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer, Philosopher, Moral thinker, and an important member of the Tolstoy family. It contains the detail about his life and works as written by his friend and confidant Paul Birukoff.

As Leo Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia Tolstoy experienced both glory and condemnation during their forty-eight-year marriage. She was admired as the muse and literary assistant to one of the world’s most celebrated novelists. But when in later years Tolstoy became a towering public figure and founded a new brand of religion, she was scorned for her disagreements with him. And it is this version of Sophia—malicious, shrill, perennially at war with Tolstoy—that has gone down in the historical record. Drawing on newly available archival material, including Sophia’s unpublished memoir, Alexandra Popoff presents a dramatically different and accurate portrait of the woman and the marriage. This lively, well-researched biography demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, Sophia was remarkably supportive of Tolstoy and was, in fact, key to his fame. Gifted and versatile, Sophia assisted Tolstoy during the writing of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Having modeled his most memorable female characters on her, Tolstoy admired his wife’s boundless energy, which he called “the force of life.” Sophia’s letters, never before translated, illuminate the couple’s true relationship and provide insights into Tolstoy’s creative laboratory. Although long portrayed as an elitist and hysterical countess, Sophia was in reality a practical, independent-minded, generous, and talented woman who shared Tolstoy’s important values and his capacity for work. Mother of thirteen, she participated in Tolstoy’s causes and managed all business a airs. Popoff describes in haunting detail the intrusion into their marriage by Tolstoy’s religious disciple Vladimir Chertkov, who controlled Tolstoy at the end of his life and led a smear campaign against Sophia, branding her evil and mad. She is still judged by Chertkov’s false accounts, which dismissed her valuable achievements and contributions. During his later religious phase, Tolstoy renounced his property and copyright, and Sophia had to become the breadwinner. She published Tolstoy’s collected works and supported their large family. Despite the pressures of her demanding life, she realized her own talents as a writer, photographer, translator, and aspiring artist. This vigorous, engrossing biography presents in fascinating depth and detail the many ways in which Sophia Tolstoy enriched the life and work of one of the world’s most revered authors.