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Leo Tolstoy did not think he had written a novel. Of "War and Peace" he said it was not a novel, still less a poem, and still less a historical chronicle. He reserved the word "novel" for his next big book, "Anna Karenina." Whatever you call it, "War and Peace" is now widely counted among the greatest novels ever written.
If the size of the book has kept you away, here is the honest picture: it is long, it has a large cast, and it is far more approachable than its reputation suggests. This guide covers where the story starts, what makes it rewarding, and how to pick a translation. Nothing past the opening is given away.
Who wrote it, and how
Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in Russia and died on 20 November 1910 at Astapovo. Before he wrote about war, he lived it. He joined the army in the Caucasus in 1851, and during the Crimean War he served as an artillery officer and was in Sevastopol through its eleven-month siege. His "Sevastopol Sketches" came out of that experience. When "War and Peace" moves onto a battlefield, it is written by someone who had stood on one.
The book took shape in stages. An early version, titled "1805," was serialized in the journal The Russian Messenger from 1865 to 1867. Tolstoy then rewrote it heavily, and the complete work appeared in 1869. His wife, Sophia, whom he married in 1862, worked as his secretary and editor and copied his manuscripts by hand again and again, preparing clean drafts of this one for the publisher.
The finished book follows Russian society through the Napoleonic era, with the French invasion of Russia in 1812 at its center. Real people, including Napoleon himself and the Russian commander Kutuzov, share the stage with invented ones; about 160 historical figures are named or mentioned.
Three things that surprise first-time readers
Much of the talk is in French. The opening pages are full of it. Russia's aristocracy commonly spoke French, and Tolstoy wrote a good deal of the early dialogue in that language, even though France is the country Russia is about to fight. The French thins out as the book goes on. How a translation handles these passages is one more reason to sample before you choose.
Some chapters are not story at all. Of the book's 361 chapters, 24 are essays in which Tolstoy steps out of the narrative to question how history is usually written and who really moves it. If they slow you down, it is fine to skim them on a first pass and come back later.
It begins in a drawing room, not on a battlefield. For a book with "War" in its title, the first scenes are surprisingly domestic: gossip, family worries, young people in love. Campaigns and private lives then take turns, so history arrives as something that happens to households, not just to generals.
Meet the families
The book follows five aristocratic families: the Bezukhovs, Bolkonskys, Rostovs, Kuragins, and Drubetskoys. Here is how you meet three of them.
The Bezukhovs, at a party. In July 1805, Anna Pavlovna Scherer, a confidante of the dowager empress (the widow of a former emperor), hosts an evening party in St. Petersburg. Among her guests is Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a wealthy count. Educated abroad at his father's expense, kind-hearted and socially awkward, he has no career and dislikes being asked about one. Because he is his father's favorite, the room is quietly wondering who will inherit the fortune.
The Bolkonskys, leaving for war. Pierre's friend Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is weary of Petersburg society and of his marriage. With war against Napoleon coming, he decides to serve as aide-de-camp, a personal staff officer, to Kutuzov, the general who led Russian troops against Napoleon's advance in 1805. He leaves his pregnant wife, Lise, at the family estate of Bald Hills with his eccentric father and his deeply religious sister, Maria.
The Rostovs, at home in Moscow. Count Ilya and Countess Natalya Rostov are affectionate parents who worry about money. Their household is full of young people: Natasha, thirteen; Nikolai, twenty; and their fifteen-year-old cousin Sonya. Hearts are already being given away.
That is the doorway. Where history carries these families is for you to find out.
Choosing a translation
This is the one decision that really matters, so it is worth a minute.
- Louise and Aylmer Maude (1922-1923, revised 1933). The version Project Gutenberg offers free as an e-book. A good way to sample the book before committing.
- Constance Garnett (1904). One of the earliest English versions (the first, by Nathan Haskell Dole, appeared in 1889).
- Rosemary Edmonds (Penguin, 1957; revised 1978) and Anthony Briggs (Penguin, 2005). Two Penguin translations from different generations.
- Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (2007). The most recent of the major versions listed here.
If you want a single rule: download the free Maude version first and read a few chapters. Each translation has its own voice, so the simplest test after that is to read the opening party scene in two of them and keep the one you enjoy reading. Whichever you choose, a reading pace of a few chapters a day is enough; the book rewards steadiness more than speed.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like big historical fiction, family sagas, or the Napoleonic era will feel at home. So will anyone who saw King Vidor's 1956 film, Sergei Bondarchuk's Soviet adaptation, or the 2016 BBC series and wants the full version. And if you have read "Anna Karenina," this is the larger canvas Tolstoy painted first.
Start with the party in St. Petersburg. Find Pierre standing awkwardly at the edge of the room, and follow him in.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "War and Peace" (an early version titled "1805" serialized in The Russian Messenger from 1865 to 1867; heavy rewriting and full publication in 1869; Tolstoy's statement that it is not a novel, still less a poem or a historical chronicle; his later view of Anna Karenina as his first true novel; structure of four volumes, fifteen books, and a two-part epilogue in the standard Russian text; 361 chapters, 24 of them philosophical; time span centered on the French invasion of Russia in 1812; substantial dialogue in French reflecting the French-speaking aristocracy, decreasing as the book goes on; the five families Bezukhov, Bolkonsky, Rostov, Kuragin, and Drubetskoy; real figures such as Napoleon and Kutuzov, about 160 real persons named or referred to; opening setup: July 1805 soirée in St. Petersburg hosted by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, confidante of the dowager empress; Pierre as the illegitimate son of a wealthy count, educated abroad at his father's expense, kind but socially awkward, without a career, and his father's favorite with the inheritance in question; Andrei disillusioned with Petersburg society and his marriage; Count Ilya and Countess Natalya Rostov as affectionate but worried about finances; Natasha at 13, Nikolai at 20, and their 15-year-old cousin Sonya; Andrei leaving his pregnant wife Lise at Bald Hills with his eccentric father and devoutly religious sister Maria to serve as Kutuzov's aide-de-camp; English translations by Nathan Haskell Dole 1889, Constance Garnett 1904, Aylmer and Louise Maude 1922-1923 revised 1933, Rosemary Edmonds (Penguin) 1957 revised 1978, Anthony Briggs (Penguin) 2005, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 2007; adaptations including King Vidor's 1956 American film, Sergei Bondarchuk's Soviet films, and the 2016 BBC series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_Peace
- Wikipedia, "Leo Tolstoy" (birth and death dates and places; army service in the Caucasus from 1851; artillery officer in the Crimean War and presence at the eleven-month siege of Sevastopol; Sevastopol Sketches; marriage to Sophia Behrs in 1862 and her repeated copying of his manuscripts, including clean drafts of War and Peace; regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy
- Project Gutenberg, "War and Peace" (free English e-book in the translation by Louise and Aylmer Maude; public domain in the USA) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2600
- Wikipedia, "Mikhail Kutuzov" (Russian military officer; in 1805 commanded the Russian forces opposing Napoleon's advance on Vienna) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kutuzov