War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

Category: Adults, Classic, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
Language: English
Keywords: Fiction Literature Literary

Written by Leo Tolstoy
Read by Jonathan Keeble
Format: M4B
Unabridged

“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.”

Tolstoy’s War and Peace, written in serial format and published between 1865 and 1869, is widely regarded as a masterwork of Russian literature and one of the world’s greatest novels.

This epic novel intricately weaves together the lives of several families against the backdrop of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, and follows Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfilment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman, as they navigate love, loss, and their search for meaning in a tumultuous world.

As Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture; and through their experiences, explores the profound complexities of human nature and destiny.

Celebrated for its historical realism and rich character development, its examination of the social and political landscape of the time, and for its profound exploration of the human condition, War and Peace is an epic war chronicle, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit that continues to captivate audiences worldwide.