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''War and Peace'' ( by Leo Tolstoy , first published from 1865 to 1869 in ''Russki Vestnik'', which tells the story of Russia n society during the Napoleonic Era . It is usually described as one of Tolstoy's two major masterpieces (the other being '' Anna Karenina '') as well as one of the world's greatest novels. ''War and Peace'' offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, marriage, age, and death. While today it is considered a Novel , it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics of Tolstoy's time did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered '' Anna Karenina '' ( 1878 ) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense. TITLE The Russian words for "'' 2002, no. 6 However, Tolstoy himself translated the title into French as "La guerre et la paix" ("War and Peace"). The confusion has been promoted by the popular Soviet TV quiz show '' Что? Где? Когда? '' (''Chto? Gde? Kogda?'' - '' What? Where? When? ''), which in 1982 presented as a correct answer the "society" variant, based on a 1913 edition of "''War and Peace''" with a misprint in a single page. This episode was repeated in 2000, which refuelled the legend. There is also an (unrelated) poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky called "Война и міръ" (i.e. "міръ" as "society"), written in 1916. ''War and Peace'' or ''La Guerre et la Paix'' was also the title of an earlier political work by French Anarchist Pierre Proudhon , published in 1864. It has been speculated that the title ''War and Peace'' was inspired by Proudhon's ''La Guerre et la Paix''. {Link without Title} ORIGIN Tolstoy initially intended to write a novel about the in 1812, and ultimately the history of that war. All that remains of that intention is a foreshadowing in the first epilogue that Pierre Bezukhov and Prince Andrei Bolkonski's son are going to be members of the Decembrists. LANGUAGE Although Tolstoy wrote the bulk of the book, including all the narration, in Russian, significant pockets of dialogue throughout the book (including its opening sentence) are written in French . This merely reflected reality, as the Russian aristocracy in the nineteenth century all knew French, then the Lingua Franca of the European upper classes, and often spoke French rather than Russian among themselves. Indeed, Tolstoy makes one reference to an adult Russian aristocrat who has to take Russian lessons to try to master the national language. Less realistically, the Frenchmen portrayed in the novel, including Napoleon himself, sometimes speak in French, sometimes in Russian. CONTEXT 's production of ''War and Peace'' (1968).]] The novel tells the story of five Aristocratic families, particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskis, and the Rostovs, and the entanglements of their personal lives with the history of 1805 – 1813 , principally Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. As events proceed, Tolstoy systematically denies his subjects any significant Free Choice : the onward roll of history determines happiness and tragedy alike. The standard Russian text is divided into four books (fifteen parts) and two Epilogue s – one mainly narrative, the other wholly thematic. While roughly the first half of the novel is concerned strictly with the fictional characters, the later parts, as well as one of the work's two epilogues, increasingly consist of highly controversial nonfictional Essay s about the nature of war, political power, History , and Historiography . Tolstoy interspersed these essays into the story in a way that defies fictional convention. Certain abridged versions removed these essays entirely, while others (published even during Tolstoy's life) simply moved these essays into an Appendix . PLOT SUMMARY ''War and Peace'' depicts a huge cast of characters, both historical and fictional, the majority of whom are introduced in the first book. At a Soirée given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer in July 1805, the main players and families of the novel are made known. Pierre Bezukhov is the illegitimate son of a wealthy Count who is dying of a stroke, and becomes unexpectedly embroiled in a tussle for his inheritance. The intelligent and sardonic Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, husband of a charming wife Lise, finds little comfort in married life, instead choosing to be Aide-de-camp of Prince Mikhail Kutuzov in their coming war against Napoleon . We learn too of the Moscow Count Rostov family, with four adolescent children, of whom the vivacious younger daughter Natalya Rostova ("Natasha") and impetuous older Nikolai Rostov are the most memorable. At Bleak Hills, Prince Andrei leaves his pregnant wife to his eccentric father and religiously devout sister Maria Bolkonskaya and leaves for war. At the Schöngrabern engagement, Nikolai Rostov, conscripted as Ensign in a squadron of Hussar s, has his first Baptism Of Fire upfront in battle. Like all young soldiers he is attracted by Tsar Alexandr 's charisma. He gambles recklessly and consorts with the lisping Denisov. Briefly returning home to Moscow, he finds the Rostov family facing financial ruin due to poor management. Nikolai refuses to accede to his mother's request to find a rich Heiress for wife and promises to marry his childhood sweetheart, the orphaned and self-obliterating cousin Sonya. If there is a central character to ''War and Peace'' it is Pierre Bezukhov who, upon receiving an unexpected inheritance, is suddenly burdened with the responsibilities and conflicts of a Russian nobleman. His former carefree behavior vanishes and he enters upon a philosophical quest particular to Tolstoy: how should one live a moral life in an ethically imperfect world? He attempts to free his Peasant s, but ultimately achieves nothing. He enters into marriage with Prince Kuragin's beautiful and immoral daughter Elena, against his own better judgement. He joins the Freemasons but is helpless in the face of his wife's numerous affairs. Pierre is vividly contrasted with Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Tolstoy's intelligent and ambitious alter ego. At the Battle Of Austerlitz Andrei is inspired by glory to lead a charge of a struggling army, but is nearly fatally wounded. Rescued by Napoleon, all the visions of his of life are shattered in the face of death and Napoleon's apparent vanity, his earlier hero. His wife Lise dies during childbirth. Burdened with Nihilistic disillusionment Prince Andrei is led to a Philosophical argument with Pierre – where is God in this Amoral world? Pierre points to Panentheism and an Afterlife . Young Natasha briefly reinvigorates Andrei, but their plan to marry has to be postponed with a year-long engagement. Elena and her handsome brother Anatoly conspire together for Anatoly to seduce and dishonor the young and beautiful Natasha Rostova. This plan fails, yet, for Pierre, it is the cause of an important meeting with Natasha, when he realizes he is in love with her, during the time when the Great Comet Of 1811–2 streaks the sky. Natasha, shamed by her seduction, has had her wedding engagement broken off by Andrei. Meanwhile Nikolai unexpectedly acts as a knight to beleaguered Maria Bolkonskaya, whose father's death has left her in the mercy of an estate of hostile, rebelling peasants. He reconsiders marriage, and finds Maria's devotion, honesty, and inheritance extremely attractive. As Napoleon pushes through Russia, Pierre decides to watch the Battle Of Borodino near the battle next to a Russian artillery crew. There, he realizes just how terrible and fatal war can be. When Napoleon's Grand Army occupies an abandoned and burning Moscow , Pierre takes off on a Quixotic mission to assassinate Napoleon and is captured as a Prisoner Of War . After witnessing French soldiers sacking Moscow and shooting Russian civilians, including his saintly cell-mate Karataev, Pierre is forced to march with the Grand Army during its disastrous retreat from Moscow. He is later freed by a Russian raiding party. Meanwhile Andrei, wounded during Napoleon's invasion, is taken in as a casualty by the fleeing Rostovs when he is reunited with Natasha and sister Maria before the end of the war. Having lost all will to live after forgiving Natasha, he dies, much like the death scene at the end of '' The Death Of Ivan Ilych ''. Tolstoy vividly depicts the contrast between the attacking Napoleon and the Russian general Kutuzov , both in terms of personality and in the clash of armies. Napoleon believes that he could control the course of a battle through giving orders by Courier s, while Kutuzov admits all he could do was to plan the initial disposition, and let subordinates direct the field of action. Napoleon chooses wrongly, opting to march on to Moscow and occupy it for five fatal weeks, when he would have been better off destroying the Russian army in a decisive battle. General Kutuzov believes time to be his best ally, and refrains from engaging the French, who ultimately destroy themselves as they limp back toward the French border. They are all but destroyed by a final Cossack attack as they straggle back toward Paris . As the novel draws to a close, Pierre's wife Elena dies sometime during the last throes of Napoleon's invasion and Pierre is reunited with Natasha while the victorious Russians rebuild Moscow. Pierre finds love at last and marries Natasha, while Nikolai, whose dilemma between his heart's choices is now firmly set on Princess Maria, is released from his oath by Sonya. He marries Maria Bolkonskaya but provides for Sonya for the rest of her life. Prince Andrei's son is brought up by Nicolai and Maria. CHARACTERS IN "WAR AND PEACE"
Many of Tolstoy's characters in ''War and Peace'' were based on real-life people known to Tolstoy himself. Nikolai Rostov and Maria Bolkonskaya were based on Tolstoy's own memories of his father and mother, while Natasha was modeled after Tolstoy's wife and sister-in-law. Pierre and Prince Andrei bear much resemblance to Tolstoy himself, and many commentators have treated them as alter egos of the author. FILM, TV, THEATRICAL AND OTHER ADAPTATIONS
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