Leo Tolstoy

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Launched in 2015, the extraordinarily successful Little Black Classics series has now sold nearly 1 million copies in the UK alone and over 2 million worldwide, making their way into retailers such as Tesco and the series' most popular book. This...

The acclaimed new translation of Tolstoy's masterpiece, for the first time in Black Classics after the successful hardback and Red Classics editions—10,000+ hardbacks and, by the time of Black Classics, 20,000+ of Red Classics sold. At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's...

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is part of the Penguin Classics relaunch. This edition features the award-winning new translation of the great Russian novel. Exploring themes of love, betrayal, and the complexity of human relationships, Anna Karenina is a compelling narrative that delves into the intricacies of 19th-century Russian society. Tolstoy's masterful storytelling invites readers into the lives of unforgettable...

The greatest love story I've ever read - Andrew Davies Anna Karenina is a novel of unparalleled richness and complexity, set against the backdrop of Russian high society. Tolstoy charts the course of the doomed love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer who pursues Anna after becoming infatuated with her at a...

Magnificent new translation of Tolstoy's fiction by the acclaimed duo behind War and Peace. 'As good as anything Tolstoy ever wrote... Self-assured, vital, unforgettable' — Guardian The title story of this collection is about a man battling a mysterious illness. His family visit his bedside, their faces masks of concern. His colleagues pay their respects but only think of the...

Anna Karenina is Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny, and self-destruction, presented in a gorgeous new clothbound edition. Anna Karenina seems to have everything—beauty, wealth, popularity, and an adored son. However, she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalises society and family alike, and soon brings jealousy...

A stunning clothbound edition of Tolstoy's great novel, soon to be a major BBC drama. At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical...

The ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy's artistic prowess displayed over five decades, experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism, and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, The Two Hussars contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy's belief that art must serve a moral purpose, What Men...

This indispensable translation is as close to the original as it is possible to get while at the same time being a clear and fluid rendering of the Russian. If you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it - The Times Tolstoy's enthralling epic depicts Russia's...

The Vintage Classics Russians Series - sumptuous editions of the greatest books to come out of Russia during the most tumultuous period in its history. If you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it - The Times Tolstoy's enthralling epic depicts Russia's war with Napoleon and...

This volume includes Family Happiness, The Kreutzer Sonata, The Devil, and Father Sergius. The four stories are all about love, but they take very different attitudes towards it. Tolstoy knows that his readers have fallen in love and also, often, fallen out of it; they have wanted to kill their loved ones; they have lusted vigorously; or desperately sought the...

"How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories." Sharon Cameron in her preface to The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories Tolstoy wrote in many genres for different audiences. In this, the first of three volumes of his shorter fiction...

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics—irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. The Cossacks follows Dmitry Andreich Olenin, who, in the hope of escaping the hollowness of his privilege, joins the army and heads to the Caucasus. There among the foothills, he will meet the Cossacks—a people he considers...

A new translation by Tony Briggs of Tolstoy's last major novel. Resurrection (1899) tells the story of a nobleman's attempt to redeem the suffering his youthful philandering inflicted on a peasant girl who ends up a prisoner in Siberia. Tolstoy's vision of redemption achieved through loving forgiveness, and his condemnation of violence, dominate the novel. An intimate, psychological tale of...

How Much Land Does a Man Need? & Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy is a collection of short works that range from Tolstoy's earliest tales to the brilliant title story. Rich in insights and passion, these stories embody the themes that define all of Tolstoy's explorations: love, war, courage, and civilization.

A superb new translation by Judson Rosengrant of Tolstoy's semi-autobiographical trilogy. Leo Tolstoy began his trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, Youth, in his early twenties. Although he would in his old age famously dismiss it as an 'awkward mixture of fact and fiction', generations of readers have not agreed. Readers find the novel to be a charming and insightful portrait of inner...

Describing Tolstoy's crisis of depression and estrangement from the world, A Confession (1879) is an autobiographical work of exceptional emotional honesty. By the time he was fifty, Tolstoy had already written the novels that would assure him of literary immortality; he had a wife, a large estate and numerous children; he was a happy man and in good health—yet life...

Tolstoy's controversial treatise on the purpose of Art During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticises the elitist nature of art...

Immerse yourself in the opulent and intricate world of Imperial Russia through Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, a cornerstone of world literature. This timeless masterpiece of passion, betrayal, and the quest for meaning weaves the lives of its characters into a rich tapestry that has captivated readers for generations. In the heart of this narrative stands Anna, a stunning and intelligent woman...

War looms in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, and when Napoleon invades Russia in 1812, it forever changes those whose lives it engulfs. Although told on a panoramic scale, Tolstoy's epic novel focuses on the chaos of battle, the horror of death and bloodshed, and the expression of the noble virtues of love and valour through their impact on the...

This indispensable translation is as close to the original as it is possible to get while at the same time being a clear and fluid translation. If you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it - The Times Tolstoy's enthralling epic depicts Russia's war with Napoleon...

Leo Tolstoy's classic novel of love and self-destruction is spectacularly presented in this ornate hardback gift edition with gold cover foiling and printed page edges. It is no surprise that Leo Tolstoy's peers should have hailed this Russian literary masterpiece as one of the best novels ever written. Even in the 21st century, it has regularly been voted as one...

Leo Tolstoy's classic of Russian literature in its first—and still, arguably, the best—translation by Constance Garnett, now in a beautiful gift edition for the Union Square & Co. Signature Clothbound Editions line. Anna Karenina is the wife of a well-respected government official. When she travels to St. Petersburg to reconcile her brother and his wife, she meets Count Vronsky and...

The must-have Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of one of the greatest Russian novels ever written Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and...

Fifty-two readings to spark weekly group discussion on putting Jesus' most central teachings into practice. Jesus' most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, possesses an irresistible quality. Who hasn't felt stirred and unsettled after reading these words, which get to the root of the human condition? This follow-up to the acclaimed collection Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants...

War and Peace is a literary masterpiece by Leo Tolstoy that explores the lives of several aristocratic families during the Napoleonic Wars. This deluxe hardbound edition features a beautifully designed cover and showcases the novel's intricate plot and complex characters. It is a must-have for collectors of classic literature and fans of historical fiction. The Grandeur of War, The Quiet...

Immerse yourself in the brilliant storytelling of Leo Tolstoy with The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy. This captivating collection showcases the literary genius of one of the greatest Russian authors, featuring tales of love, morality, and the human condition that will leave you spellbound. Timeless tales from the master of moral realism A curated selection of Leo Tolstoy's finest...

Crimea, 1854: residents in the besieged city of Sevastopol look out over a harbour punctured by the masts of scuttled ships, and taunt the French forces that keep them trapped behind defensive walls. So begins Leo Tolstoy's account of nine months of battle and bravery. Based on his own experiences as an artillery officer in the Crimean War, Tolstoy uses...

Both critics and admirers of Tolstoy's great novel were shocked by the savage iconoclasm of his What is Art? when it appeared in 1898. How was it that this great artist could condemn the works of Shakespeare, Raphael, Beethoven and even his own Anna Karenina as 'false art'? Today's reader still has to grapple with that paradox. The essay still...

Leo Tolstoy's evocative tale of doomed love—one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. Anna Karenina startled the world with its powerful portrayal of the human need for love and purpose. In a story that brings to vivid life nineteenth-century Russia across various social classes, Anna renounces a respectable yet stifling marriage for a passionate affair that weighs her...

The Power of Darkness (1886) is a play by Leo Tolstoy. Forbidden for decades in Tolstoy's native Russia, the five-act play was first staged in Paris, where it earned praise from some of France's leading critics. Noted for its brutal depiction of violence and desperation, the play is concerned with the universal religious and philosophical themes that inspired such masterpieces...

Written over a period of more than half a century, Tolstoy's enchanting short stories and novellas reflect every aspect of his developing art and outlook. Collected Shorter Fiction Volume Two reveals how these spiritual intimations flowered into a series of extraordinary late masterpieces which equal anything in the earlier novels for intensity and power. Readers of The Death of Ivan...

Written over a period of more than half a century, Tolstoy's enchanting short stories and novellas reflect every aspect of his developing art and outlook. Collected Shorter Fiction Volume 1 of the Everyman series is dominated by the characteristic experiences of his early life as a soldier, landowner, husband, and father—the life which shaped Anna Karenina and War and Peace....

Leo Tolstoy’s most personal novel, Anna Karenina, scrutinises fundamental ethical and theological questions through the tragic story of its eponymous heroine. Anna is desperately pursuing a good, “moral” life, standing for honesty and sincerity. Passion drives her to adultery, and this flies in the face of the corrupt Russian bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the aristocrat Konstantin Levin is struggling to reconcile reason...

Resurrection is Tolstoy's most controversial novel, narrating the dramatic tale of a remorseful nobleman who seeks redemption after a woman he once wronged is convicted of murder. This gripping story reveals a world of injustice previously unknown to him. A nobleman confronts the repercussions of his youthful misconduct when the girl he seduced and abandoned years earlier is implicated in...

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books 'I'm not the sort of husband you dream of when you're walking alone along the avenue in the evening, am I? And it would be a disaster, wouldn't it?' How does love die? This question lies at the heart of Tolstoy's desperately sad novella. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Masha...

Part of the Penguin Classics' fresh new editions of Tolstoy's major works - including Antony Briggs' stunning new translation of War and Peace. In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army and travelled to the Caucasus as a soldier. The four years that followed were among the most significant in his life, and deeply influenced the...

At the age of forty-one, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) underwent a profound spiritual crisis, from which he emerged believing that he had encountered death itself. These seven compelling stories explore, in very different ways, his subsequent preoccupation with mortality. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a devastating account of a man fighting his inevitable end, and asks the existential question —...

"I don't understand it; I don't in the least understand why men can't live without wars. How is it that we women don't want anything of the kind, don't need it?" Tolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs...

"Love... it means too much to me, far more than you can understand." At its simplest, Anna Karenina is a love story. It is a portrait of a beautiful and intelligent woman whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties – to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the...

Love... it means too much to me, far more than you can understand. At its simplest, Anna Karenina is a love story. It is a portrait of a beautiful and intelligent woman whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties— to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society...

In 1872, the mistress of a neighbouring landowner threw herself under a train at a station near Tolstoy's home. This event provided Tolstoy with the inspiration he needed to compose what many believe to be the greatest novel ever written. In writing Anna Karenina, he moved away from the vast historical sweep of War and Peace to portray, with extraordinary...

Revisit the timeless classic in this graphic retelling of Tolstoy’s celebrated 1869 novel. In this beautifully rendered graphic adaptation, both fans and newcomers alike will be immersed in the world of War and Peace, one of the most celebrated novels of all time, about the misadventures of Pierre Bezúkhov, Natásha and Ilyá Rostóv, and company during the Napoleonic era of...

Inspirational Wisdom for Every Day in a Classic Daybook – An excellent gift . . . A fine inspirational (Midwest Book Review) During the last years of his life, Leo Tolstoy kept one book invariably on his desk, read and reread it to his family, and recommended it to all his friends: a compendium of wise thoughts gathered over the...

Set against the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, War and Peace follows five different Russian families over fifteen years: as courtiers, as a populace experiencing turmoil, and as human beings with their own hopes and heartbreaks. Described alternately as "the Russian Iliad," "the Bible of a national ideal," "an extraordinary poem of a novel," and "life itself in eternal...

Anna Karenina is the wife of a well-respected government official. When she travels to St. Petersburg to reconcile her brother and his wife, she meets Count Vronsky, and the course of her life is transformed. Widely adapted into theatre, ballet, radio, television, and movie adaptations.

Over the last fifteen years of his life, Tolstoy collected and published the maxims of some of the world’s greatest masters of philosophy, religion, and literature, adding his own contributions to various questions that preoccupied him in old age, such as faith and existence, as well as matters of everyday life. Banned in Russia under Communism, A Calendar of Wisdom...

"How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories." Sharon Cameron in her preface to The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories This second volume of Tolstoy's shorter fiction, selected by the critic Sharon Cameron, contains 'Family Happiness', 'The Devil', and The Kreutzer...

"How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories" Sharon Cameron in her preface to Hadji Murad and Other Stories This, the third volume of Tolstoy's shorter fiction, concentrates on his later stories, including one of his greatest, Hadji Murad. In the...

The beautiful illusion, when reading Tolstoy, is that one is looking directly at the world, as opposed to a depiction – Andrew O'Hagan from his preface to Childhood, Boyhood and Youth Published in 1852, when he was just twenty-four, Childhood was Tolstoy's first published work, and the first of a trilogy of stories that evoke the upbringing and traditional education...

First published in 1878, Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is the tragic story of aristocrat Anna Karenina and her ill-fated affair with the cavalry officer Count Vronsky. Although passionately in love, the couple finds their romance doomed by the sexual mores of their time and place, and the double standards that apply to men and women. The tale's panoramic sweep and...

Little Black Classics - the new series to celebrate Penguin's 80th anniversary. Although he feared death, he could not stop. "If I stopped now, after coming all this way - well, they'd call me an idiot!"