This page is a stub!
This article is a stub. You can help The Book Lovers Wiki by expanding it.
War and Peace (or Война и миръ) is a novel written by Leo Tolstoy. Partially released in serial form from 1865 to 1867 and released in full in 1869, it tells the story of semi-ordinary Russian citizens during Napoleon's wars. The original title was 1805.
War and Peace is considered one of Russia's literary masterworks, and one of the longest novels in the world with a staggering 1,200+ pages, and one that took a total of six years from start to finish to be written.
Characters[]
- Pierre Bezukhov
- Andrei Bolkonsky
- Natasha Rostova
- Anna Pavlovna
- Lise Bolkonsky, aka "The Little Countess" (Andrei’s wife)
- Prince Bolkonsky (Andrei's father)
- Countess Natalya Rostova
- Petya Rostov
- Nicholas Rostov
- Sonya Rostova
- Mademoiselle Bourienne
- Tsar Alexander
- Napoleon
Publisher's summary[]
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once a historical war epic, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit.
Noted for its mastery of realistic detail and psychological analysis, War and Peace follows the metamorphosis of five aristocratic families against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Individual stories interweave as each of Tolstoy's memorable characters seek fulfillment, fall in love, make mistakes, and become scarred by war in different ways.
Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process.
Full summary[]
War and Peace 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. The beginning sentences are about how the speaker, Anna Pavlovna, believes that Napoleon is the AntiChrist. Many of the novel’s characters are introduced at a society hostess’s party, among them Pierre Bezukhov, the socially awkward but likable illegitimate son of a rich count, and Andrew Bolkonski, the intelligent and ambitious son of a retired military commander, whose wife, Lise, is pregnant. She is referred to as "the little Countess" and spends her time at the party sewing quietly.
We also meet the sneaky and shallow Kuragin family, including the wily father Vasili, the fortune-hunter son Anatole, and the ravishing daughter Helene. We are introduced to the Rostovs, a noble Moscow family, including the lively daughter Natasha, the quiet cousin Sonya, and the impetuous son Nicholas, who has just joined the army led by the old General Kutuzov.
The Russian troops are mobilized in alliance with the Austrian empire, which is currently resisting Napoleon’s onslaught. Both Andrew and Nicholas go to the front. Andrew is wounded at the Battle of Austerlitz, and though he survives, he is long presumed dead. Pierre is made sole heir of his father’s fortune, and marries Helene Kuragina in a daze. Helene cheats on Pierre, and he challenges her seducer to a duel in which Pierre nearly kills the man in anger.
Andrei's wife, Lise, gives birth to a son just after Andrei arrives home to his estate, much to the shock of his family. Lise dies in childbirth, leaving Andrei's devout sister Mary to raise the son. Meanwhile, Pierre, disillusioned by married life, leaves his wife and becomes involved with the spiritual practice of Freemasonry, which he discovered when on a train ride. He attempts to apply the practice’s teachings to his estate management, and share these teachings with his skeptical friend Andrei, who is doing work to help reform the Russian government.
Meanwhile, the Rostov family’s fortunes are failing, thanks in part to Nicholas’s gambling debts. The Rostovs consider selling their beloved family estate, Otradnoe.
Nicholas is encouraged to marry a rich heiress, despite his earlier promise to marry Sonya. Nicholas’s army career continues, and he witnesses the great peace between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander. Natasha grows up, attends her first ball, and falls in love with various men before becoming seriously attached to Andrei. Fortunately, her affections are not wasted, for Andrei has feelings for her as well. They get engaged, and begin to make wedding plans. Andrei’s father, the Prince, disapproves with their engagement, and tells them that they have to wait at least a year before marrying, much to the surprise of the couple.
Andrei's father objects to the marriage, and requires Andrei to wait a year before wedding Natasha. Natasha reluctantly submits to this demand, and Andrei goes off to travel. For the first few months, Andrei and Natasha write to each other, but after a while, they discontinue their correspondence.
After Andrei departs, his father becomes irritable and cruel toward Mary, who accepts the cruelty with Christian forgiveness. Natasha is attracted to Anatole Kuragin, who confesses his love.
She eventually decides that she loves Anatole and plans to elope with him, but the plan fails, due to the watchful eye of her aunt, who manages to catch the two in the nick of time. (She found out via reading one of Natasha’s letters with Anatole.) Andrei comes home and rejects Natasha for her involvement with Anatole. Also, she had canceled their engagement, which is a choice she regrets once Andrei returns, for his homecoming reminds her why she fell in love with him.
Pierre consoles a heartbroken Natasha, and begins to feel an attraction toward her. Natasha falls ill with grief and sadness, and her immediate family, not knowing the true meaning behind her illness, spend plenty of money to get doctors to come and examine her. Natasha dislikes the treatments she receives, but cannot bear to reveal why she is suffering.
In 1812, Napoleon invades Russia, and Tsar Alexander reluctantly declares war. Andrei returns to active military service. Pierre observes Moscow’s response to Napoleon’s threat and develops a crazy sense that he has a mission to assassinate Napoleon. Pierre becomes obsessed with an old, somewhat obscure prophecy involving the number 666, which is associated with the anti-Christ. After doing a lot of fooling around with Napoleon's name and a number-to-letter setup, Pierre decides that Napoleon is the dreaded anti-Christ and therefore should die. This is because Napoleon's name adds up to the number 666 when Pierre uses the system. Then, he does it with his own name, out of curiosity. His name does not add up to 666.
The French approach the Bolkonski estate, and Mary and the old Prince Bolkonski (Andrei's father) are advised to leave. The prince dies just as the French troops arrive. Mary, finally forced to leave her estate, finds the local peasants hostile. Nicholas, who is in the military, happens to ride up and save Mary. Mary and Nicholas feel the stirrings of romance in their hearts.
The Russians and French fight a decisive battle at Borodino, where the smaller Russian army inexplicably defeats the French forces, much to Napoleon’s dismay. In St. Petersburg, life in the higher social circles continues almost unaffected by the occupation of Moscow. Helene seeks an annulment of her marriage with Pierre in order to marry a foreign prince. Distressed by this news, Pierre becomes deranged and flees his companions, wandering alone through the emptying streets and homes of Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Rostovs pack up their belongings, preparing to evacuate, but they abandon their possessions to convey wounded soldiers instead. Natasha’s younger brother Petya enters the army. On the way out of the city, the Rostovs take along the wounded Andrei with them. Pierre, still wandering half-crazed in Moscow, sees widespread anarchy, looting, fire, and murder.
Still obsessed with his mission of killing Napoleon, he saves a girl from a fire but is apprehended by the French authorities when he his trying to return the young, panicked toddler to her worried parents. He is unable to find the parents, and loses the toddler in the fray. Pierre later witnesses the execution of several of his prison mates, and bonds with a wise peasant named Platon Karataev.
Nicholas’s aunt tries to arrange a marriage between Nicholas and Mary, but Nicholas resists, remembering his commitment to Sonya. Mary visits the Rostovs to see the wounded Andrew, and Natasha and Mary grow closer. Andrei forgives Natasha, declaring his love for her before he dies. She admits that she loved him as well, and regrets annulling the relationship when she did, for she now realizes that she made a terrible decision in choosing to try and elope with Anatole. Natasha cries for about a day or two afterwards.
General Kutuzov leads the Russian troops back toward Moscow, which the French have finally abandoned after their defeat at Borodino. The French force the Russian prisoners of war, including Pierre, to march with them. On the way, Platon falls ill and is shot as a straggler. The Russians follow the retreating French, and small partisan fighting ensues. Petya is shot and killed near an abandoned farmstead.
Pierre, after being liberated from the French, falls ill for three months. Upon recovering, he realizes his love for Natasha, which she reciprocates. Pierre and Natasha are married in 1813 and eventually have four children.
Natasha grows into a solid, frumpy Russian matron. Nicholas weds Mary, resolving his family’s financial problems. He also rebuilds Mary’s family’s estate, which had been damaged in the war. Despite some tensions, Nicholas and Mary enjoy a happy, full family life.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishment | Fyodor Dostoevsky | 1866 | Another major work of Russian literature |
| Fathers and Sons | Ivan Turgenev | 1862 | Another major work of Russian literature |
| The Red Badge of Courage | Stephen Crane | 1895 | A novel with vaguely similar themes |
| The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin | Alexander Pushkin | 1831 | Another major work of Russian literature |
| Unconquered | Bertrice Small | 1982 | A novel set in the Napoleonic War |
| Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol | 1842 | Another major work of Russian literature |
| Uncle Vanya | Anton Chekhov | 1898 | Another major work of Russian literature |