Leo Tolstoy: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

War and Peace and Anna Karenina are widely recognized as two of the greatest novels ever written. Their author Leo Tolstoy has been honored as the father of the modern war story, as an innovator in psychological prose, and as a genius at using fiction to reveal the mysteries of love and death. At the time of his death in 1910, Tolstoy was known the world over as both a great writer and as a merciless critic of institutions that perpetrated, bred, or tolerated injustice and violence in any form.

Yet among literary critics and rival writers, it has become a commonplace to disparage Tolstoy's "thought" while praising his "art." In this Very Short Introduction Liza Knapp explores the heart of Tolstoy's work. Focusing on his works of fiction that have stood the test of time, she analyses his works of non-fiction alongside them, and sketches out the core themes in Tolstoy's art and thought, and the interplay between them. Tracing the continuing influence of Tolstoy's work on modern literature, Knapp highlights those aspects of his writings that remain relevant today.