September 09, 2014 4:19 PM
Leo Tolstoy born on September 9, 1828 as Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy in the well-known family of old Russian nobility is one the most remarkable names in the history of literature. On the special occasion of his 186th birthday anniversary, we take a glimpse of how his writings revolving around the semi-autobiographical and dozens of short stories made Leo Tolstoy one of the celebrated authors. Reader around the globe speak aboutWar and Peace being one of his best novels but for Tolstoy it was not even a full-fledged novel that he consideredAnna Karenina to be his ‘first novel’.
For someone who said quotes like ‘The two most powerful warriors are patience and time’ and ‘The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity’ he may be seen far more philosophical for the present scenario but only a true lover of literature can understand the depth Tolstoy brought with his writings. We take a look at five famous works of Leo Tolstoy on his 186th birth anniversary:
1. War and Peace
War and Peace published in 1869 is first of two long novels written by Leo Tolstoy. War and Peace written on a grand scale is considered to one of the finest works in the world of literature. The plot of the novel is revolving around the 1812 French invasion of Russia during the Napoleonic wars. The novel opens in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in 1805, as Napoleon’s conquest of Western Europe is just beginning to stir fears in Russia.
2. Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina, which Leo Tolstoy considers his first true novel for he thought War and Peace was more than a novel. Anna Karenina revolved around Oblonsky family of Moscow caught embroiled with adultery on part of the head of family Dolly Oblonskaya and is caught by his wife Stiva. The story is revolves around how Stiva’s sister Anna Karenina reconciles Dolly and Stiva. Anna Karenina is widely regarded as a finest work of realist fiction.
3. The Death of Ivan Ilyich
The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novella first published in 1886 was written post his religious conversion in 1870. The novella tells the story of the death, at age 45, of a high-court judge Ivan Ilyich in 19th-century. The novella starts off with the Russia Peter Ivanovich, also a judge and close friend of Ivan Ilych, announces about Ivan being dying. It is as story about the life affected by Ivan’s death to all those people related to him and that everyone dies someday. It is about Ivan Ilyich’s last days and battling with his own death.
4. What Men Live By
From the best collection of short stories by Leo Tolstoy, What Men Live By was short story written in 1885. It is about a kind and humble shoemaker Simon. Leo Tolstoy known for his generosity to the peasants revolved with his moral philosophical in this short story.
5. Three Deaths
Majority of Leo Toldstoy’s work revolved around the realism including death. His short story ‘Three Deaths’ published in 1859 narrated the deaths of three subjects: a noblewoman, a coachman and a tree.