Leo Tolstoy, a Russian author, wrote a book titled War and Peace (Russian: Воѹна и миръ, romanized: Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: Воѹна и миръ; [vɐjˈna i ˈmʲir]). The work, which takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, combines chapters on philosophy and history with fictitious narrative. First published in serial form in 1865, the full book underwent a complete rewrite and was eventually released in 1869. Along with Anna Karenina, it is recognised as Tolstoy's best-known work and is still hailed as a masterpiece of world literature worldwide.
The Napoleonic era French invasion of Russia and its aftermath are chronicled in this book. It illustrates Napoleon's influence on Tsarist society through five interconnected storylines that follow several Russian noble families. Before the full novel was published in 1869, excerpts of an earlier version, titled The Year 1805, were serialised in The Russian Messenger from 1865 to 1867.According to Tolstoy, War and Peace is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle." This is because the best Russian literature, he claimed, did not follow conventions. Rather than being narrative, many parts—especially the later chapters—are philosophical conversations. Anna Karenina was, in his opinion, his first real novel.
COMPOSITION HISTORY
In 1863, after getting married and relocating to his country estate, Tolstoy started writing War and Peace. He wrote to his sister-in-law Elizabeth Bers in September of that year, asking her to see if she could locate any diaries, chronicles, or other documents from Russia's Napoleonic era. He was shocked to learn that there weren't many documented accounts of Russian household life at the time, and he made an effort to include these details in the novel's early editions.
"1805" was the title of the book's first part. He read a great deal while writing the second part and cited Schopenhauer as a major influence. In a letter to Afanasy Fet, Tolstoy stated that Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation reiterated what he had written in War and Peace. Tolstoy, though, tackles “it from the other side.”
The novel's original draft was finished in 1863. The first section of this manuscript was published under the title 1805 in the journal Russkiy Vestnik (The Russian Messenger) in 1865. Additional parts were published the following year. Tolstoy was not happy with this version, though he did approve of some sections being published in 1867 with a different conclusion. Between 1866 and 1869, he extensively revised the entire book.[5][9] Up to seven different complete manuscripts were duplicated by Tolstoy's wife, Sophia Tolstaya, before Tolstoy decided it was ready for publishing.[9] The version that was eventually published under the title War and Peace in 1869 had a substantially different ending than the one that was published in Russkiy Vestnik.
PLOT SUMMARY
The story opens in July 1805 in Saint Petersburg at an evening hosted by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna's confidante and maid of honour. As they walk into the salon, many of the major personalities are introduced. Pierre (Pyotr Kirilovich) Bezukhov is a wealthy count's illegitimate son. The count is nearing death following several strokes, and he is about to get entangled in a power battle over his estate.
After his mother passed away, Pierre, who was sent to study overseas at his father's expense, is a good-hearted but awkward person who finds it hard to fit in with Petersburg society. Everyone at the soirée is aware that, out of all the old count's illegitimate children, Pierre is his father's favourite. Because Pierre's father, Count Bezukhov, is a wealthy man, and because Pierre is his favourite, most nobles believe that Pierre will inherit his father's riches despite the fact that he is not biological. This is why they show respect for Pierre during the soirée.
The attractive darling of society, Lise, is married to Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky, who is also Pierre's acquaintance and attending the soirée. He believes his wife is shallow and vacuous, which has left him disillusioned with both married life and Petersburg society. Pierre is uncomfortable seeing the marital strife and is unsure of how to handle this. Pierre's father sent him to Petersburg to pick a career, but he feels awkward about it because he can't seem to find one and people always ask him about it. Andrei informs Pierre that, in order to flee a life he cannot endure, he has chosen to serve as Prince Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov's aide-de-camp during the upcoming war (The Battle of Austerlitz) against Napoleon.
The story shifts to Moscow, the former capital of Russia, where it is contrasted with Saint Petersburg's more European society with its more rural, Russian ways. We meet the Rostov family. Though they are a loving couple, Count Ilya Andreyevich Rostov and Countess Natalya Rostova are concerned about their chaotic financial situation. They are parents of four kids. Thirteen-year-old Natasha (Natalia Ilyinichna) thinks she is in love with a young man named Boris Drubetskoy, who is going to become an officer in the army. Anna Mikhaylovna Drubetskaya, a childhood acquaintance of the countess Natalya Rostova, is the mother of Boris. Additionally, Pierre's father, Count Bezukhov, is the godson of Boris.
Twenty-year-old Nikolai Ilyich promises his love to his fifteen-year-old cousin, Sonya (Sofia Alexandrovna), who was raised by the Rostovs as an orphan. Vera Ilyinichna, the oldest child, is aloof and a little pretentious, but she has a promising future as the wife of Russian-German commander Adolf Karlovich Berg. At nine years old, Petya (Pyotr Ilyich) is the youngest. Like his brother, he is impulsive and ready to enlist in the army when he becomes older.
At Bald Hills, the Bolkonskys' country estate, Prince Andrei leaves his terrified, pregnant wife Lise with his eccentric father, Prince Nikolai Andreyevich, and his deeply religious sister, Maria Nikolayevna Bolkonskaya. Maria Nikolayevna Bolkonskaya is suspicious of the young man and refuses to marry him because she is devoted to her father and believes he will be unfaithful.The upcoming Russian-French war preparations are described in the first section of the second section. Nikolai Rostov, who is currently an ensign in the hussars, experiences his first combat at the Schöngrabern fight. He is introduced to Prince Andrei by Boris Drubetskoy, whom Rostov angrily insults. The charm of Tsar Alexander draws him in profoundly. Along with gambling and hanging out with his officer Vasily Dmitrich Denisov, Nikolai also makes the vicious acquaintance Fyodor Ivanovich Dolokhov. Prince Andrei suffers severe injuries during the catastrophic Battle of Austerlitz, which involves Bolkonsky, Rostov, and Denisov. Prince Andrei is trying to save a Russian standard.
One of the book's main events is the Battle of Austerlitz. Prince Andrei believes that the impending "day [will] be his Toulon, or his Arcola"[18], alluding to Napoleon's early triumphs, as the fight is about to begin. But later in the conflict, Andrei gets captured by the enemy and even runs into Napoleon, his hero. But his earlier elation has faded; he no longer holds Napoleon in high regard; "so petty did his hero with his paltry vanity and delight in victory appear, compared to that lofty, righteous and kindly sky which he had seen and comprehended"[19] According to Tolstoy, Austerlitz was a failed early test for Russia since the soldiers' goals were not the higher virtues that would win them success, but rather unimportant things like glory or reputation.
