Tolstoy: A Critical Introduction

This is a critical introduction to the novels and short stories of Tolstoy, treating them in their own right as works of literature, not as biographical evidence or contributions to a philosophical system. The heart of the book, inevitably, is in the two long chapters which examine War and Peace and Anna Karenina in detail, but most of Tolstoy's other fiction is also discussed and there is a chapter on his drama and his aesthetic theories. Professor Christian is concerned to show what is characteristic about Tolstoy's fiction: what kind of effects he is trying to convey and how his art secures those effects. No Russian is needed, but in his frequent quotations in English Professor Christian touches on the problems of translations so that the reader of English is given some hint of the texture and uniqueness of the original Russian, often smoother out in translation. Professor Christian shows the link between the subtlety of the technique and the greatness of the mind and heart behind it. The general reader will welcome this human concern; the student will be equally grateful for a straightforward, systematic, concise overall study.