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War and Peace

Poetry

War and Peace is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, set during the Napoleonic Wars, combining a fictional narrative with chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An early version, titled The Year 1805, was serialized beginning in 1865, after which the entire book was rewritten and published in full in 1869. The novel chronicles the French invasion of Russia and its aftermath, using five interlocking narratives following different Russian aristocratic families to illustrate Napoleon's impact on Tsarist society, and is regarded, with Anna Karenina, as Tolstoy's finest literary achievement and among the greatest novels ever written.

Facts
Composed, From (Year)
from 1865 1
Composed, From (Year)
from 1869 1
Composed, To (Year)
to 1869 1
An early version (The Year 1805) was serialized from 1865; the entire book was rewritten and published complete in 1869.
Length Band
Epic (Over 600 Pages) 2
Classification
Audience
General 1
Original Language
French 1
Original Language
Romanian 1
Original Language
Russian 1
FAQs

Is War and Peace a novel or a work of history?

A novel that mixes a history of the Napoleonic Wars, fictional biographies and essays on the philosophy of history.

It is a novel, but an unusual one. According to Britannica it begins in St. Petersburg in 1805 and is composed of a historical account of the Napoleonic Wars, biographies of fictional characters, and essays about the philosophy of history. Tolstoy portrays Napoleon as an ineffective buffoon and the Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov as a patient old man.
Connections

Authored By

Leo Tolstoy, Authors
Source War and Peace (Wikipedia)

In Genre

Epic, Genres
Source War and Peace (Wikipedia)

Long-Form Articles

Tolstoy Would Not Call War and Peace a Novel, Articles

Written In Form

The Novel, Forms
Source War and Peace (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Original Language

French

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Romanian

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Russian

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Originated In

Russia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. War and Peace (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    War and Peace...is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy...An early version was published serially beginning in 1865, after which the entire book was rewritten and published in 1869.
  • Lead
    is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
  • Original language statement
    War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, romanized: Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: Война и миръ; IPA: [vɐjˈna i ˈmʲir]) is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
  • Authored By: Leo Tolstoy, Lead section, authorship
    War and Peace...is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
  • In Genre: Epic, Lead section, genre
    an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy
  • Written In Form: The Novel, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the form
    War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, romanized: Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: Война и миръ; IPA: [vɐjˈna i ˈmʲir]) is an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
View the Source
2. Open Library: Open Library search: War and Peace
Open LibrarySearch result, median page count
Quote, Search result, median page count
"number_of_pages_median": 696, "title": "War and Peace"
View the Source
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