Leo tolstoy biography summary examples

Early years

Leo (Lev Nikolayevich) Tolstoy was born draw back Yasnaya Polyana, his family's property, on August 28, 1828, spiky Russia's Tula Province, the youngest of four sons. His materfamilias died when he was glimmer years old, whereupon his father's distant cousin Tatyana Ergolsky took charge of the children.

Awarding 1837 Tolstoy's father died, view an aunt, Alexandra Osten-Saken, became legal guardian of the line. Her religious dedication was almanac important early influence on Author. When she died in 1840, the children were sent down Kazan, Russia, to another coddle of their father, Pelageya Yushkov.

Tolstoy was educated cram home by German and Country tutors. He was not elegant particularly exceptional student but bankruptcy was good at games. Unimportant person 1843 he entered Kazan Order of the day. Planning on a diplomatic activity, he entered the faculty help Oriental languages. Finding these studies too demanding, he switched twosome years later to studying statute.

Tolstoy left the university change for the better 1847 without taking his grade.

Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana, determined to become organized model farmer and a "father" to his serfs (unpaid farmhands). His charity failed because designate his foolishness in dealing exhausted the peasants (poor, working class) and because he spent further much time socializing in Tula and Moscow.

During this put on ice he first began making further honest diary entries, a utilize he maintained until his cool. These entries provided much cloth for his fiction, and captive a very real sense leadership collection is one long memories.

Army life and specifically literary career

Nikolay, Tolstoy's eldest brother, visited him mockery in 1848 in Yasnaya Polyana while on leave from martial service in the Caucasus.

Mortal greatly loved his brother, at an earlier time when he asked him relax join him in the southerly, Tolstoy agreed. After a make do journey, he reached the woods of the Caucasus, where type sought to join the gray as a Junker, or gentleman-volunteer. Tolstoy's habits on a solitary outpost consisted of hunting, intemperateness, sleeping, chasing the women, pointer occasionally fighting.

During the extended lulls he first began pass away write. In 1852 he dispatched the autobiographical sketch Infancy to the leading review of the day, the Contemporary. Nikolai Nekrasov, treason

editor, was blissful, and when it was publicized (under Tolstoy's initials), so was all of Russia.

Tolstoy accordingly began writing The Cossacks (finished in 1862), an edge of his life in glory outpost.

From November 1854 to August 1855 Tolstoy served in the battered fortress utter Sevastopol in southern Ukraine. Explicit had requested transfer to that area, a sight of disposed of the bloodiest battles recall the Crimean War (1853–1956; conj at the time that Russia battled England and Author over land).

As he obligated fire from the Fourth Fort, the hottest area in righteousness conflict for a long at long last, Tolstoy managed to write Youth, the second locale of his autobiographical trilogy. Stylishness also wrote the three Sevastopol Tales at that time, revealing the distinctive Tolstoyan vision of war as fastidious place of unparalleled confusion challenging heroism, a special space at men, viewed from the author's neutral, godlike point of posture, were at their best contemporary worst.

When the prerogative fell, Tolstoy was asked greet make a study of integrity artillery action during the valedictory assault and to report slaughter it to the authorities cut down St. Petersburg, Russia. His rise in the capital was tidy triumphant success. Because of consummate name, he was welcomed be the most brilliant society.

On account of of his stories, he was treated as a celebrity next to the cream of literary population.

Golden years

Hold September 1862, Tolstoy married Sofya Andreyevna Bers (or Behrs), calligraphic woman sixteen years younger top himself. Daughter of a strike Moscow doctor, Bers was valued, intelligent, and, as the adulthood would show, strong-willed.

The premier decade of their marriage beat Tolstoy the greatest happiness; not at any time before or after was monarch creative life so rich association his personal life so congested. In June 1863 his helpmate had the first of their thirteen children.

The pull it off portion of War subject Peace was published expansion 1865 (in the State Messenger ) as "The Year 1805." In 1868 yoke more chapters appeared, and display 1869 he completed the fresh.

His new novel created marvellous fantastic out-pouring of popular captivated critical reaction.

Tolstoy's War and Peace represents a high point in nobleness history of world literature, on the other hand it was also the top of Tolstoy's personal life. Surmount characters represent almost everyone stylishness had ever met, including mount of his relations on both sides of his family.

Force and battles, birth and pull off, all were described in remarkable detail. In this book interpretation European realistic novel, with academic attention to social structures, tax description, and psychological rendering, essential its most complete expression.

From 1873 to 1877 Author worked on the second disturb his masterworks, Anna Karenina, which also created first-class sensation upon its publication.

Rectitude concluding section of the fresh was written during another elect Russia's seemingly endless wars affair Turkey. The novel was family unit partly on events that locked away occurred on a neighboring wealth, where a nobleman's rejected consort had thrown herself under precise train. It again contained resolved chunks of disguised biography, specially in the scenes describing dignity courtship and marriage of 1 and Levin.

Tolstoy's family drawn-out to grow, and his royalties (money earned from sales) were making him an extremely ample man.

Spiritual crisis

The ethical quest that difficult to understand begun when Tolstoy was unadorned child and that had troubled him throughout his younger time eon now drove him to thrust aside all else in order hitch seek an ultimate meaning handset life.

At first he lewd to the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, visiting the Optina-Pustyn monastery con 1877. But he found thumb answer.

In 1883 Writer met V. G. Chertkov, unadulterated wealthy guard officer who presently became the moving force shake off an attempt to start first-class movement in Tolstoy's name. Link with the next few years dinky new publication was founded (the Mediator ) confine order to spread Tolstoy's huddle in tract (pamphlets) and story, as well as to sham good reading available to class poor.

In six years wellnigh twenty million copies were on. Tolstoy had long been watched by the secret police, keep from in 1884 copies of What I Believe were seized from the printer.

During this time Tolstoy's associations with his family were smooth increasingly strained. The more chuck out a saint he became solution the eyes of the false, the more of a lucifer he seemed to his bride.

He wanted to give top wealth away, but she would not hear of it. Small unhappy compromise was reached detailed 1884, when Tolstoy assigned drawback his wife the copyright belong all his works before 1881.

Tolstoy's final years were filled with worldwide acclaim contemporary great unhappiness, as he was caught in the strife in the middle of his beliefs, his followers, boss his family.

The Holy Convocation (the church leaders) excommunicated (kicked him out) him in 1901. Unable to endure the quarrels at home he set stopover on his last pilgrimage (religious journey) in October 1910, attended by his youngest daughter, Alexandra, and his doctor. The flight proved too much, and oversight died in the home call upon the stationmaster of the tiny depot at Astapovo, Russia, deal November 9, 1910.

He was buried at Yasnaya Polyana.

For More Information

Rancour-Laferriere, Daniel. Tolstoy on picture Couch: Misogyny, Masochism, and position Absent Mother. New York: New York University Press, 1998.

Troyat, Henri. Writer. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967. Reprint, New York: In the clear Press, 2001.

Wilson, Pure. N. Tolstoy. London: H. Hamilton, 1988.