Louise Maude

Overview: Uncluttered by the complexities of plot and character that daunt so many readers of the longer Russian masterpieces, Tolstoy's tales illumine eternal truths with forceful brevity. While inspired by a sense of spiritual certainty, their narrative quality, subtle humor, and visionary power lift them far above the common run of "religious" literature. Moralists purport to tell us what our live should mean, and how we should live them. Tolstoy,...

In this trilogy of autobiographical novels Leo Tolstoy's first published works are gathered together. An instant success, one which would launch Tolstoy's distinguished career, "Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth", was first published from 1852 to 1856. In these works, the early life of Nikolai, the son of wealthy landowner in Russia, is fully explored, slowly revealing this young boy's inner mind, relationships, and social standing. As he describes his...

"Tolstoy produced many drafts of Anna Karenina. Crafting and recrafting each sentence with careful intent, he was anything but casual in his use of language. His project, translator Marian Schwartz observes, "was to bend language to his will, as an instrument of his aesthetic and moral convictions." In her magnificent new translation, Schwartz embraces Tolstoy's unusual style - she is the first English language translator ever to do so. Previous translations...

A collection of novellas by the distinguished Russian writer, with supplementary critical and biographical background.