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War and Peace


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Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.


Epic historical novel by Leo Tolstoy, originally published as Voyna i mir in 1865-69. This panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society, noted for its mastery of realistic detail and variety of psychological analysis, is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels. War and Peace is primarily concerned with the histories of five aristocratic families--particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs--the members of which are portrayed against a vivid background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon (1805-14). The theme of war, however, is subordinate to the story of family existence, which involves Tolstoy's optimistic belief in the life-asserting pattern of human existence. The novel also sets forth a theory of history, concluding that there is a minimum of free choice; all is ruled by an inexorable historical determinism.



I read War and Peace as I travelled on the Trans-Siberian Express five years ago. Totally appropriate to read while passing through areas to which Moscow dissidents fled and who are mentioned by Tolstoy.--Submitted by Anonymous



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Recent Forum Posts on War and Peace

Did Pierre Cheat on Natasha?

In the first epilogue, Pierre and Natasha discuss their former quarrels after Pierre returns from Petersburg. Pierre says he loves Natasha and even if they're at odds when they part, he develops a lot of love for her after they've been parted for a while. This makes Natasha a little queasy, and Pierre says, "No, I never stopped loving you, it's not that..." He doesn't finish the sentence. Natasha says their quarrels are silly and when Pierre mentions jealousy, she shuts him up, afraid to open a new can of worms. After a moment of silence, she asks him, "Did you see her?" Pierre says no. Does this interaction imply that Pierre cheated on Natasha at one point in their marriage or is my reading incorrect? I've searched Wikipedia, Sparknotes, and Cliffnotes, but to no avail :(

Posted By konish at Sun 12 Aug 2012, 10:39 PM in War and Peace || 0 Replies

A Novice and "War and Peace"

I'm about to begin War and Peace (Tolstoy of course) and having only read a dozen or so of his short stories, I got the bright idea I would consult you bright folks for tips. I've heard people keeping notebooks to track characters, things like that. Anything that might be helpful is welcome indeed. Thanks in advance.

Posted By ZTay at Mon 23 Jul 2012, 10:16 PM in War and Peace || 4 Replies

Russians Speaking French?

I'm reading a newer translation of War and Peace, one that claims to be truer to the original than the standard Maude translation (I don't know if it is; I don't read Russian), and one of the ways in which it does this is keep the original French text. While I'm reading, I keep wondering why the Russians speak so much French, when they're fighting the French. Even the emperor speaks French. What's the deal with that?

Posted By Mutatis-Mutandis at Thu 14 Jun 2012, 3:34 PM in War and Peace || 4 Replies

War and Peace comic

hi - i recently drew a comic book version of war and peace. it's here: warandpeacecomic.blogspot.com i'm told it takes about 20 minutes to read. it's intended to be a fun, easy read. (as you would expect, it's a bare-bones version of the story.) i would love to get feedback from some of you who have read or are reading tolstoy's novel. at this point, i'm happy to get any type of feedback, positive/negative or whatever comes into your mind. 1000 thanks!

Posted By erik nebel at Mon 5 Dec 2011, 10:45 PM in War and Peace || 0 Replies

Favorite quotes in "War and Peace"?

I'm midway through the book and, so far, coming across many, many passages worth quoting (from the Constance Garnett translation). I'm tied between two of the following quotes (both from Part Nine, Chapter I): 1. "History--that is the unconscious life of humanity in the swarm, in the community--makes every minute of the life of kings its own, as an instrument for attaining its ends." 2. "Every action of theirs, that seems to them an act of their own freewill, is in an historical sense not free at all, but in bondage to the whole course of previous history, and predestined from all eternity." (i.e.: Freedom isn't free, and every action you do is forever documented in even your own personal history and the histories of those around you whether you know them or not and whether it was your own choice or not... also could mean that our perception of freedom is, in a way, scripted) Anyone have some quotes that stand out in War and Peace?

Posted By TheChilly at Sun 4 Sep 2011, 3:18 PM in War and Peace || 3 Replies

War and Peace

Has anyone out there ever tried to read War and Peace and stopped? Unable to get through it? I have read it, and in retrospect liked it. I had to treat it more like poetry as literary style weighed as heavy as content. Anyway, with that sort of approach I enjoyed it alot more.

Posted By tonywalt at Mon 8 Aug 2011, 3:36 PM in War and Peace || 9 Replies

Movies, BBC serial, and novel -- recommended order?

Must have screwed something up the first time I tried this, so let's have another go.... I know it's generally sacrilege to see the movie before reading the book, and I try to do it the right way whenever possible. But, for example, after a half-dozen failed attempts at reading Lord of the Rings over 15-20 years (unfortunately, it reads like what it is, a world-building exercise by a college professor) I was only able to finish it after watching the first film. Once that had set the characters and initial events in my mind, the books were smooth sailing. That's by way of intro. I'm currently looking to try War and Peace, which I'm told is pretty good for a classic; however, I've heard a lot about about the numerous characters and plotlines, and I know I'm going to have trouble keeping track of everything while reading it in bits and pieces on the bus or before bed. I have access to all of the 1956 Hollywood, 1965-7 Russian, and 1972 BBC adaptations, and I'm thinking that the best way to pave my mental trails for the novel is to watch the movie and TV versions shortest to longest, with each introducing more of the characters and storylines, before tackling the Big One (which I have in the Norton Critical (second) Edition, BTW). Can anyone out there who has read the novels and seen many of the filmed versions tell me if this is a good approach for this work (religious convictions on book-movie order aside)? I'm especially interested in whether any of the filmings are actually harder to follow without having read the novel due to what's omitted, and thus would be a bad choice as a lead-in. Thanks!

Posted By Calidore at Wed 23 Mar 2011, 11:56 PM in War and Peace || 7 Replies

Pierre's conversation with vicomte

"He could not do that. The people only gave him power that he might rid them of the Bourbons and because they saw that he was a great man. The Revolution was a grand thing!" continued Monsieur Pierre, betraying by this desperate and provocative proposition his extreme youth and his wish to express all that was in his mind. The above quote. This is the conversation that Pierre has with the vicomte at Anna Pavlovna's soiree where he says that Napoleon was a great man. Can someone help me out by explaining how Pierre is betraying his extreme youth and his wish to express all that was in his mind? What does this mean? I would greatly appreciate anyone who could explain this for me. Thank you and have a nice day.

Posted By lumpkch at Mon 27 Dec 2010, 3:51 PM in War and Peace || 1 Reply

prince andrei

How did you feel about him at the end of war and peace? Were you satisfied with his "transformation"? Personally, I felt the most invested in andrei as a character and would like to see how others felt about him.

Posted By greenberg at Wed 10 Nov 2010, 6:58 PM in War and Peace || 1 Reply

Age errors in War and Peace

I am confused by the Book 2, part one, chapter one of the Maude translation. Nicholas is home on leave in early 1806. It says Natasha is now fifteen and that Nicholas has been gone 18 months? This does not make sense as Natasha's name day was in Sept 1805 and she was 13 and Nicholas was there so how is she 15 and he was gone 18 months when this Book is only a few months after the name day?

Posted By JULES0821 at Sun 12 Sep 2010, 9:28 AM in War and Peace || 1 Reply

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