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War and Peace is an epic novel of Russian history and society by Leo Tolstoy, published from
1865 to 1869, which tells the story of Russia during
the Napoleonic Era.
War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing
less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth and age. While today it is
considered a novel, it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics
did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered Anna
Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense.
The novel tells the story of five aristocratic families and the entanglement of their personal lives with history,
specifically the invasion of Russia by Napoleon. As events proceed,
Tolstoy systematically denies his subjects any significant free choice: the onward roll of history determines happiness and
tragedy alike.
In his 365 chapters (roughly 1500 pages), some only a few pages in length, Tolstoy tells of birth and death, balls and
battles, gossip and tragedy, military strategy and political philosophy. While roughly the first two-thirds of the novel concern
themselves strictly with the fictional characters, the later parts of the novel, as well as one of the work's two epilogues,
increasingly contain highly controversial, nonfictional essays about the nature of war, political power, history, and historiography. Tolstoy interspersed
these essays seamlessly into the story in a way which defies conventional fiction. Certain abridged versions removed these essays
entirely, while others (published even during Tolstoy's life) simply moved these essays into an appendix.
If there is a central character to War and Peace it is Pierre Bezuhov, the illegitimate son of a wealthy count, who upon receiving an unexpected inheritance is suddenly thrust upon with the
responsibilities and conflicts of a Russian nobleman. His formerly carefree behavior vanishes and he enters upon a philosophical
quest particular to Tolstoy: how should one live a moral life in an imperfect world? He frees his peasants and improves his estate, but goes bankrupt in the process. He is tricked into marriage with Prince
Kuragin's beautiful, immoral daughter Helene.
Helene and her brother Anatole conspire to ruin the beautiful Natasha Rostova. Pierre rescues her, but recoils from his
feeling of love for her. He later takes off on a quixotic mission to
assassinate Napoleon and is captured as a prisoner of war. His wife dies and Pierre is reunited with Natasha. They find
love at last and marry.
Tolstoy vividly depicts the conflict between the Russian general Kutuzov and Napoleon Bonaparte, both in terms of personality and in the clash of armies. General Kutuzov strives mightily to hold back the French advance when
his best tactic would have been to draw the French on into the depths of Russia. Napoleon likewise chose wrongly, attempting to
complete his march to destroy Moscow when he would have been better off destroying the
Russian army in a decisive battle. The French are demoralized and destroyed by a final Cossack attack as they straggle back towards Paris.
War and Peace was recast as an opera by Sergei Prokofiev. In 1956, this novel was released as a motion picture, directed by Volker Schlöndorff.
War and Peace was recast as an opera by Sergei Prokofiev. In 1956, this novel was released as a motion picture, directed by
King Vidor.
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