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In November 1910, Count Lev Tolstoy died at a remote Russian railway station. At the time of his death, he was the most famous man in Russia, with a growing international following, and more revered than the tsar. Born into an aristocratic family, Tolstoy had spent his life rebelling not only against conventional ideas about literature and art but also against traditional education, family life, organized religion, and the state.
In this exceptional biography, Rosamund Bartlett draws extensively on key Russian sources, including much fascinating new material made available since the collapse of the Soviet Union. She sheds light on Tolstoy's remarkable journey from callow youth to writer to prophet; discusses his troubled relationship with his wife, Sonya, a subject long neglected; and vividly evokes the Russian landscapes Tolstoy so loved. Above all, she gives us an eloquent portrait of the brilliant, maddening, and contrary man who has, once again, been discovered by a new generation of readers.
"Starred Review. Her deep and easy familiarity with her subject and the period permits Bartlett to touch on both the thinkers and writers who engaged Tolstoy... while getting to the essence of the spiritual power that informs his work." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Many books have been written about Tolstoy, but few give his family life its due. Written for both the curious, educated reader and the academic scholar, Bartlett's book is an exemplary literary biography." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. [Bartlett's] Tolstoy biography should become the first resort for everyone drawn to its titanic subject." - Booklist
"Starred Review. A rich, complex life told in rich, complex prose." - Kirkus Reviews
"Conveys Tolstoy to me more vividly than any biography I have read." - Financial Times
"The extraordinary character of the giant is captured better by Bartlett than by any previous biographer, and this is partly because she knows Russia so well... Superbly well written." - Spectator (UK)
"Engaging... impressive." - Daily Telegraph (UK)
This information about Tolstoy was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rosamund Bartlett's previous books include Wagner and Russia and the acclaimed Chekhov: Scenes from a Life. An authority on Russian cultural history, she has also achieved renown as a translator of Chekhov. You can find her online at www.rosamundbartlett.com.
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