Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated

by Leo Tolstoy, Andrew Barger (Editor)

Overview

"Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" branded Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the 20 greatest short stories of Leo Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late nineteenth century. A fine introduction is given by Andrew Barger. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives. The classic stories include:

A Candle

After the Dance

Albert

Alyosha the Pot

An Old Acquaintance

Does a Man Need Much Land?

If You Neglect the Fire You Don't Put It Out

Khodinka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II

Lucerne

Memoirs of a Lunatic

My Dream

Recollections of a Scorer

The Empty Drum

The Long Exile

The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit Fedor Kusmich

The Young Tsar

There Are No Guilty People

Three Deaths

Two Old Men

What Men Live By

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933747149
Publisher:	Bottletree Books
Publication date:	08/01/2009
Edition description:	Annotated
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (/ˈtoʊlstɔɪ, ˈtɒl-/;[2] Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой, was born 9 September [O.S. 28 August] 1828 - 20 November [O.S. 7 November] 1910). He is usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909; the fact that he never won is a major controversy.Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Tolstoy's notable works include the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878), [8] often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856), and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. His fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), Family Happiness (1859), "After the Ball" (1911), and Hadji Murad (1912). He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays.In the 1870s, Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession (1882). His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), had a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi[9] and Martin Luther King Jr. He also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly Resurrection (1899).

Date of Birth:

September 9, 1828

Date of Death:

November 20, 1910

Place of Birth:

Tula Province, Russia

Place of Death:

Astapovo, Russia

Education:

Privately educated by French and German tutors; attended the University of Kazan, 1844-47