Tolstoy

This biography offers a penetrating look at Leo Tolstoy's lifelong rebellion against nearly every established institution, from aristocratic privilege and organized religion to conventional family structures and the Russian state itself. Rosamund Bartlett masterfully traces how this relentless contrarian spirit fueled both his monumental literary achievements and his deeply complicated personal life, presenting the author of "War and Peace" as a man perpetually at war with the world around him. The narrative captures the full scope of his intellectual and spiritual evolution, making the great writer's internal struggles feel as epic as his novels.

Bartlett's exceptional work stands out by refusing to simplify Tolstoy's profound contradictions, instead framing his personal turmoil as the very source of his creative genius. This eloquent portrait is particularly compelling for a new generation discovering Tolstoy, as it illuminates how his radical critiques of society, education, and art remain strikingly relevant today. Readers will come away with a nuanced understanding of this brilliant and maddening figure, whose life story proves as dramatic and thought-provoking as his fiction.