Leo Tolstoy

Born into an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Leo Tolstoy experienced a life of privilege before turning to writing. His early works, including the semi-autobiographical trilogy Childhood, Boyhood, Youth, established his reputation. War and Peace (1869), a sweeping historical epic set during the Napoleonic Wars, and Anna Karenina (1877), a tragic exploration of love and society, are considered his masterpieces. In his later years, Tolstoy underwent a profound spiritual crisis, leading him to embrace a radical Christian anarchism and pacifism, which he expressed in works like The Kingdom of God Is Within You. His shorter fiction, including The Death of Ivan Ilyich, delves into mortality and meaning. Tolstoy’s influence extends beyond literature to philosophy and social reform, inspiring figures from Gandhi to modern novelists. He died in 1910 at a remote railway station, having left his estate in search of a simpler life.