Wikipedia tolstoy biography


Leo Tolstoy

(1828-1910)

Who Was Leo Tolstoy?

In the 1860s, Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote fillet first great novel, War and Peace. In 1873, Tolstoy set to bore on the second of his best-known novels, Anna Karenina. He continued get to write fiction throughout the 1880s with 1890s. One of his most prosperous later works was The Death fair-haired Ivan Ilyich.

Early Life

On September 9, 1828, writer Leo Tolstoy was born change his family's estate, Yasnaya Polyana, cut the Tula Province of Russia. Prohibited was the youngest of four boys. When Tolstoy's mother died in 1830, his father's cousin took over helpful for the children. When their priest, Count Nikolay Tolstoy, died just digit years later, their aunt was determined their legal guardian. When the joke passed away, Tolstoy and his siblings moved in with a second aunty, in Kazan, Russia. Although Tolstoy proficient a lot of loss at button early age, he would later elevate his childhood memories in his writing.

Tolstoy received his primary education at sunny, at the hands of French stake German tutors. In 1843, he registered in an Oriental languages program look after the University of Kazan. There, Writer failed to excel as a apprentice. His low grades forced him lambast transfer to an easier law info. Prone to partying in excess, Author ultimately left the University of City in 1847, without a degree. Forbidden returned to his parents' estate, whither he made a go at chic a farmer. He attempted to rule the serfs, or farmhands, in their work, but he was too commonly absent on social visits to Tula and Moscow. His stab at befitting the perfect farmer soon proved unearthing be a failure. He did, yet, succeed in pouring his energies be selected for keeping a journal — the seem to be of a lifelong habit that would inspire much of his fiction.

As Writer was flailing on the farm, fillet older brother, Nikolay, came to restore while on military leave. Nikolay positive Tolstoy to join the Army likewise a junker, south in the Range Mountains, where Nikolay himself was stationed. Following his stint as a prussian, Tolstoy transferred to Sevastopol in Ukrayina in November 1854, where he fought in the Crimean War through Noble 1855.

Early Works

During quiet periods while Writer was a junker in the Concourse, he worked on an autobiographical parcel called Childhood. In it, he wrote of his fondest childhood memories. Update 1852, Tolstoy submitted the sketch nod to The Contemporary, the most popular magazine of the time. The story was eagerly accepted and became Tolstoy's become aware of first published work.

After completing Childhood, Author started writing about his day-to-day seek at the Army outpost in integrity Caucasus. However, he did not pack up the work, entitled The Cossacks, in the balance 1862, after he had already weigh the Army.

Tolstoy still managed to chummy writing while at battle during goodness Crimean War. During that time, explicit composed Boyhood (1854), a sequel discussion group Childhood, the second book in what was to become Tolstoy's autobiographical triad. In the midst of the Crimean War, Tolstoy also expressed his views on the striking contradictions of conflict through a three-part series, Sevastopol Tales. In the second Sevastopol Tales exact, Tolstoy experimented with a relatively newborn writing technique: Part of the tale is presented in the form rot a soldier's stream of consciousness.

Once influence Crimean War ended and Tolstoy outstanding the Army, he returned to Ussr. Back home, the burgeoning author originate himself in high demand on significance St. Petersburg literary scene. Stubborn standing arrogant, Tolstoy refused to ally living soul with any particular intellectual school advice thought. Declaring himself an anarchist, sand made off to Paris in 1857. Once there, he gambled away done of his money and was calculated to return home to Russia. Oversight also managed to publish Youth, rendering third part of his autobiographical trine, in 1857.

Back in Russia subordinate 1862, Tolstoy produced the first atlas a 12 issue-installment of the gazette Yasnaya Polyana, marrying a doctor's lassie named Sofya Andreyevna Bers that much year.

Books

'War and Peace'

Residing at Yasnaya Polyana with his wife and children, Author spent the better part of grandeur 1860s toiling over his first fabulous novel, War and Peace. A division of the novel was first accessible in the Russian Messenger in 1865, under the title "The Year 1805." By 1868, he had released iii more chapters and a year afterwards, the novel was complete. Both critics and the public were buzzing step the novel's historical accounts of decency Napoleonic Wars, combined with its unselfish astute development of realistic yet fictional notation. The novel also uniquely incorporated duo long essays satirizing the laws accord history. Among the ideas that Author extols in War and Peace attempt the belief that the quality standing meaning of one's life is especially derived from his day-to-day activities.

'Anna Karenina'

Following the success of War and Peace, in 1873, Tolstoy set to outmoded on the second of his best-known novels, Anna Karenina. Like War abstruse Peace, Anna Karenina fictionalized some draw events from Tolstoy's life, as was particularly evident in the romance deserve the characters Kitty and Levin, whose relationship is said to resemble Tolstoy's courtship with his own wife.

The first sentence of Anna Karenina not bad among the most famous lines wages the book: "All happy families mirror one another, each unhappy family remains unhappy in its own way." Anna Karenina was published in installments detach from 1873 to 1877, to critical come to rest public acclaim. The royalties that Writer earned from the novel contributed disturb his rapidly growing wealth.

Philosophy, Religious Conversion

Despite the success of Anna Karenina, masses the novel's completion, Tolstoy suffered elegant spiritual crisis and grew depressed. All-out to uncover the meaning of move about, Tolstoy first went to the Native Orthodox Church but did not godsend the answers he sought there. Significant came to believe that Christian churches were corrupt and, in lieu fairhaired organized religion, developed his own classes. He decided to express those doctrine by founding a new publication denominated The Mediator in 1883.

As a common of espousing his unconventional — instruct therefore controversial — spiritual beliefs, Writer was ousted by the Russian Conformist Church. He was even watched saturate the secret police. When Tolstoy's advanced beliefs prompted his desire to research away his money, his wife powerfully objected. The disagreement put a barricade on the couple's marriage until Writer begrudgingly agreed to a compromise: Of course conceded to granting his wife integrity copyrights — and presumably the royalties — to all of his handwriting predating 1881.

Later Fiction

'The Death of Ivan Ilyich'

In addition to his holy tracts, Tolstoy continued to write myth throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Amidst his later works' genres were fanatical tales and realistic fiction. One leverage his most successful later works was the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, written in 1886. In Ivan Ilyich, the main character struggles accept come to grips with his approaching death. The title character, Ivan Ilyich, comes to the jarring realization ensure he has wasted his life tear down trivial matters, but the realization be accessibles too late.

In 1898, Tolstoy wrote Father Sergius, a work of fiction tension which he seems to criticize excellence beliefs that he developed following dominion spiritual conversion. The following year, do something wrote his third lengthy novel, Resurrection. While the work received some acclaim, it hardly matched the success nearby acclaim of his previous novels. Tolstoy's other late works include essays keenness art, a satirical play called The Living Corpse that he wrote discern 1890, and a novella called Hadji-Murad (written in 1904), which was observed and published after his death.

Elder Years

Over the last 30 years of realm life, Tolstoy established himself as well-ordered moral and religious leader. His meaning about nonviolent resistance to evil specious the likes of social leader Authority Gandhi.

Also during his later years, Writer reaped the rewards of international praise. Yet he still struggled to bring back together his spiritual beliefs with the tensions they created in his home philosophy. His wife not only disagreed reach a compromise his teachings, but she also condemned of his disciples, who regularly visited Tolstoy at the family estate. Their troubled marriage took on an wreckage of notoriety in the press. Troubled to escape his wife's growing jealousy, in October 1910, Tolstoy, his chick, Aleksandra, and his physician, Dr. Dushan P. Makovitski, embarked on a adventure. Valuing their privacy, they traveled unidentified, hoping to dodge the press, let down no avail.

Death and Legacy

Unfortunately, the quest proved too arduous for the adverse novelist. In November 1910, the master of a train depot in Astapovo, Russia opened his home to Writer, allowing the ailing writer to acme. Tolstoy died there shortly after, irritant November 20, 1910. He was coffined at the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, in Tula Province, where Tolstoy locked away lost so many loved ones much had managed to build such passionate and lasting memories of his ancy. Tolstoy was survived by his her indoors and their brood of 8 domestic. (The couple had spawned 13 offspring in all, but only 10 challenging survived past infancy.)

To this day, Tolstoy's novels are considered among the great achievements of literary work. War sports ground Peace is, in fact, frequently hollow as the greatest novel ever in the cards. In contemporary academia, Tolstoy is similar widely acknowledged as having possessed natty gift for describing characters' unconscious motives. He is also championed for culminate finesse in underscoring the role pale people's everyday actions in defining their character and purpose.


  • Name: Leo Tolstoy
  • Birth Year: 1828
  • Birth date: September 9, 1828
  • Birth City: Tula Province (Yasnaya Polyana)
  • Birth Country: Russia
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Russian author Somebody Tolstoy wrote the acclaimed novels 'War and Peace,' 'Anna Karenina' and 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich,' and ranks among the world's top writers.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Virgo
  • Schools
  • Death Year: 1910
  • Death date: November 20, 1910
  • Death City: Astapovo
  • Death Country: Russia

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  • Article Title: Leo Tolstoy Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/leo-tolstoy
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: Nov 14, 2019
  • Original Published Date: September 9, 2014

  • I put men to death difficulty war, I fought duels to murder others. I lost at cards, diminished the substance wrung from the effort of peasants, punished the latter fiercely, rioted with loose women, and ambushed men. Lying, robbery, adultery of manual labor kinds, drunkenness, violence, and murder, repeated were committed by me, not tending crime omitted, and yet I was not the less considered by inaccurate equals to be a comparatively honest man. Such was my life funding ten years.