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I came to this thread to find out more about the publication of "1805" (which must surely be what people mean when they say "the original War and Peace." Has it been published in English? If it was published under the title "War and Peace," then that's not the title Tolstoy used for it (it was published in 1867 under the title "1805"). The serial publication of the novel began in 1865 (Tolstoy started writing it in earnest the year he married, in 1863), and I'm trying to figure out how he managed to both publish an entire novel in a magazine (which then he re-edited, changing substantially many parts of it, including the ending), and publish a separate version in 1869 (the one we all know and love). He was rewriting constantly from 1865-1869, but if an entire version (called "1805") was published in 1867, does it mean that it was only after that publication that he changed the romance between Andrei and Natasha (etc.) I think Feuer's book on Tolstoy has all these details - but I don't have it yet. Anyone know?
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P.S. When I go to the Harper Perennial link posted above as being to the "original version" nothing at all by Tolstoy shows up (or Tolstoi) and nothing shows up under War and Peace. At any rate, Harper Perennial versions (there are some at the local bookstore) are the regular 1869 version - not the version known as 1805.
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Natasha was lovable as a youngster, as a young woman and adult she was the Virgin Whore if you ask me. Her heart is so fleeting and her emotions so impulsive that I don't believe for a second she ever truly loved anybody. I'm glad for Andrei's sake that they weren't married, although in "The Original Version" Bolkonsky's future is left off pretty dissatisfactorily, he neither finds love nor retires from military life, never finds the satisfaction he was searching for, except for some vague brief reference in the last pages to true happiness in life being derived from the happiness of others. I'm annoyed that Pierre marries her.. I'm glad for him, understanding his desire of her, but.. I don't think she comes close to deserving him. Masha the Virgin Whore: evidence that even 150 years ago an inspirational beauty could easily overthrow dark truths of beauty's character. Meanwhile Sonya is left alone. Nikolai.. I won't say I nearly compare his character to his sister's, but I was shocked and saddened for Sonya.
