Intro

Leo Tolstoy is considered one of the great writers. His stories War and Peace and Anna Karenina are two of history's great novels. And yet, Tolstoy grew increasingly critical of these masterpieces in his later years, seeing them as reflections of a life he no longer valued. His perspective had changed.

In some ways, this was quintessential Tolstoy. A mix of contradictions defined him. He was a count who revered the simplicity of peasant life. A soldier turned pacifist. A literary giant who questioned the very art form that brought him fame.

But it was these contradictions and his restless soul in perpetual search of truth that made him profoundly human. He lived and learned along the way and had no qualms about changing his perspectives upon making new discoveries.

A Noble Beginning

Leo Tolstoy's life began at Yasnaya Polyana, a family estate of sprawling forests, open fields, and a great house filled with books and memories of generations past. Born there on September 9, 1828, Leo was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy and Maria Volkonskaya. The family belonged to the upper echelons of Russian nobility, but sadly, the household would be shaped as much by its tragedies as by its wealth…

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