Leo Tolstoy

Emelian was a laborer and worked for a master. He was walking through a field one day on his way to work, when a frog hopped in front of him and he just missed crushing it by stepping across. Suddenly someone called to him from behind. He turned, and there stood a beautiful maiden, who said to him, 'Why don't you marry, Emelian?'

Originally published in 1930, this book contains the widely respected essay 'What Is Art', by the well-known Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and is highly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of any fan of his works. Many of these earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the...

In this carefully constructed critical essay, written in 1894, Tolstoy admonishes a government that wages war by arousing patriotic fervor and a Church that supports such a government's policies. His argument-that war and patriotism have nothing in common with the Christian principles of nonviolence and nonresistance-continues to resound today.

In addition to his towering novels, Tolstoy also triumphed with shorter works. Included in this collection are tales based on the author's personal military experience: "The Invaders," "The Wood-Cutting Expedition," "An Old Acquaintance," "Lost on the Steppe, or, The Snowstorm," and "Polikushka Kholstomer."

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Tolstoy was a master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the world's greatest novelists. "The Young Tsar" is a fine example of his gift for short stories.

It was in July, 1805, and the speaker was the well-known Anna Pávlovna Schérer, maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Márya Fëdorovna. With these words she greeted Prince Vasíli Kurágin, a man of high rank and importance, who was the first to arrive at her reception. Anna Pávlovna had had a cough for some days. She was, as she said, suffering from la grippe; grippe being then a new word in St. Petersburg, used only by the elite. All her...

There lived in olden times a good and kindly man. He had this world's goods in abundance, and many slaves to serve him. And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying: 'There is no better lord than ours under the sun. He feeds and clothes us well, and gives us work suited to our strength. He bears no malice and never speaks a harsh word to any one. He is not like other masters, who treat their slaves worse than cattle: punishing them whether...

Written from 1852 to 1856, this autobiographical novel was Tolstoy's first publication. The early life of Nikolai, the son of wealthy landowner in Russia, is fully explored, slowly revealing this young boy's inner mind, relationships, and social standing. As he describes his tutor, angelic mother, aloof father, worldly brother, and later his moralistic friend, Nikolai displays a mind given to dreaming and a personality as complex as it is conflicted....

"Albert" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy. It was originally published in 1858. The lead character, Albert, is a homeless, yet brilliant, violinist. The kind Delesov wanted to save the young violinist, but after taking him home, discovers that Albert's drinking and temper threaten to destroy his entire family.

Soon to be a major TV series, airing in 2016. 'War & Peace' is a masterpiece - an epic portrait of Russian society and its descent into the Napoleonic Wars, which has inspired love and devotion among its readers for over a century. Focusing on the lives of five aristocratic families, 'War & Peace' tells the story of three young people whose lives are swept along by events and changed forever: the misfit Pierre, philosophical Andrei and romantic, impulsive...