Penguin Childhood, Boyhood, Youth Толстой Лев Николаевич

During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticizes the elitist nature of art in nineteenth-century Western society, and rejects the idea that its sole purpose should be the creation of beauty. The works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire and Wagner are all vigorously condemned, as Tolstoy explores what he believes to be the spiritual role of the artist - arguing that true art must work with religion and science as a force for the advancement of mankind

Published in 1852, when he was just twenty-four, Childhood was Tolstoy’s first published work, and the first of a trilogy of stories that evoke the upbringing and traditional education of a Russian aristocrat in a world that vanished with the revolution. In this self-portrait, narrated by its protagonist Nikolya, the young Tolstoy captured the textures of adolescence with a psychological insight and subtlety of analysis that look forward to his mature achievements; while his matchless objectivity – summoning the smells, sights and sounds of early childhood – is already fully present in these pages • The riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English

Великий гуманист Лев Николаевич Толстой (1828—1910) видел свою писательскую задачу в исследовании человеческой природы, в желании постичь сокровенные законы сознания, которым должна двигать жажда нравственного совершенствования. Своеобразие прозы Л.Н. Толстого определено непосредственной чистотой его этического чувства и характером его таланта, подвергающего литературных героев особой форме психологического анализа — "диалектике души". Именно эти свойства, обогащаясь и видоизменяясь, неизменно присутствуют в его творчестве и определяют природу большинства его произведений. В настоящее издание вошли избранные произведения Л.Н. Толстого, среди которых такие признанные шедевры, как повесть "смерть Ивана Ильича", рассказы "Холстомер", "Хозяин и работник", "После бала" и другие

Просветитель, публицист, педагог, философ — Лев Николаевич Толстой посвятил всю свою жизнь поиску нравственного идеала. Сам он однажды сказал: «Чтобы жить честно, надо рваться, путаться, ошибаться, начинать и бросать… и вечно бороться и лишаться. А спокойствие — душевная подлость». Труд «О жизни» Толстой считал одним из главнейших своих сочинений: в нем сконцентрировались все те его взгляды и убеждения, путь к которым был столь мучителен и долог. Его душевные метания сменились уверенностью в правильности выбора

«Много ли человеку земли нужно?» — один из назидательных народных рассказов Л. Н. Толстого, написанный в начале 1886 года • В этом издании пара коротких рассказов о жадности, благотворительности, жизни и смерти от одного из самых влиятельных российских писателей и мыслителей - Льва Николаевича Толстого • Книга на английском языке • A pair of short stories about greed, charity, life and death from one of Russia's most influential writers and thinkers • Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe

In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army and travelled to the Caucasus as a soldier. The four years that followed were among the most significant in his life, and deeply influenced the stories collected here. Begun in 1852 but unfinished for a decade, The Cossacks describes the experiences of Olenin, a young cultured Russian who comes to despise civilization after spending time with the wild Cossack people. Sevastopol Sketches, based on Tolstoy's own experiences of the siege of Sevastopol in 1854-55, is a compelling consideration of the nature of war, while Hadji Murat, written towards the end of his life, returns to the Caucasus of Tolstoy's youth to explore the life of a great leader torn apart by a conflict of loyalties

'He said that Shamil had ordered Hadji Murat to be taken dead or alive...' Two masterly Russian tales of freedom, fighting and great warriors in the majestic mountains of the Caucasus, inspired by Tolstoy's years as a soldier living amid the Cossack people. A new series of twenty distinctive, unforgettable Penguin Classics in a beautiful new design and pocket-sized format, with coloured jackets echoing Penguin's original covers

The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories is a collection of stories that emerged from a profound spiritual crisis, during which Leo Tolstoy believed that he had encountered death itself. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with an introduction by Anthony Briggs, David McDuff and Ronald Wilks • These seven compelling stories explore, in very different ways, Tolstoy's preoccupation with mortality. 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' is a devastating account of a man fighting his inevitable end, and asks the existential question: why must a good person be taken before his time? In 'Polikushka', a light-fingered drunk's chance to prove himself has tragic repercussions, while 'Three Deaths' depicts the last moments of an aristocrat, a peasant and a tree, and 'The Forged Coupon' shows a seemingly minor offence that leads inexorably to ever more horrific crimes

Leo Tolstoy's last completed novel, Resurrection is an intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger and forgiveness, translated from the Russian with an introduction and notes by Anthony Briggs in Penguin Classics • Serving on the jury at a murder trial, Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is devastated when he sees the prisoner - Katyusha, a young maid he seduced and abandoned years before. As Dmitri faces the consequences of his actions, he decides to give up his life of wealth and luxury to devote himself to rescuing Katyusha, even if it means following her into exile in Siberia. But can a man truly find redemption by saving another person? Tolstoy's most controversial novel, Resurrection (1899) is a scathing indictment of injustice, corruption and hypocrisy at all levels of society

Describing Tolstoy's crisis of depression and estrangement from the world, A Confession is an autobiographical work of exceptional emotional honesty. It describes his search for 'a practical religion not promising future bliss but giving bliss on earth'. Although the Confession led to his excommunication, it also resulted in a large following of Tolstoyan Christians springing up throughout Russia and Europe • Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves – and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives – and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are

Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition from Penguin Classics • Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life - and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself • This acclaimed modern translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky won the PEN/ Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2001

"Казаки" - одно из самых поэтических творений Льва Николаевича Толстого (1828-1910). Это произведение в творческой биографии писателя сыграло особую роль: до этого он несколько лет ничего не печатал и уверял в письмах к друзьям, что совсем отказался от литературы. "Казаки" стали тем рубежом, после которого началась напряженная работа над романом "Война и мир". Именно в "Казаках", как ни в каком ином произведении Толстого, утверждается красота и значительность жизни самой по себе. При этом здесь впервые обозначен конфликт искусственного, городского и естественного, природного. С теплотой и восхищением рисует автор цельные и мужественные образы простых казаков - Ерошки, Марьяны, Лукашки, величавых и прекрасных, как сама природа, не знающих внутреннего разлада