Tolstoy's notes from the ninth draft of War and Peace, 1864. He regarded Anna Karenina as his first true novel.Ĭomposition history Only known color photograph of the author, Leo Tolstoy, taken at his Yasnaya Polyana estate in 1908 (age 79) by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky. Large sections, especially the later chapters, are philosophical discussions rather than narrative.
Tolstoy said that the best Russian literature does not conform to standards and hence hesitated to classify War and Peace, saying it is 'not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle'. Portions of an earlier version, titled The Year 1805, were serialized in The Russian Messenger from 1865 to 1867 before the novel was published in its entirety in 1869. The book highlights the impact of Napoleon on Tsarist society through five interlocking narratives following different Russian aristocratic families. The work chronicles the Napoleonic era within Russia, notably detailing the French invasion of Russia and its aftermath. It is regarded as Tolstoy's finest literary achievement and remains an internationally praised classic of world literature. First published serially beginning in 1865, the work was rewritten and published in its entirety in 1869. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work mixes fictional narrative with chapters discussing history and philosophy. War and Peace is a literary work by Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
