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Chronology

r724 Pyotr Tolstoy (great-great-great grandfather) given hereditary title of Courit by Tsar Peter the Great I82I Death of Prince Nikolay Volkonsky, Tolstoy's grandfather, at · Yasnaya Polyana, Tula Province, 130 miles south-west of Moscow

I822 Marriage of Count Nikolay Tolstoy and Princess Marya Vol 0 konskaya r828 28 August (Old Style) Birth of fourth son, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, at Yasnaya Polyana r83ci Death of mother I832 The eldest, Nikolay, informs his brothers that the secret of earthlt happiness is inscribed on a green stick, buried at Yasnaya Polyana (Tolstoy later buried there) r836 Nikolay Gogol's Government Inspector r837 Death of Alexander Pushkin in duel Death of father r840 Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time I84I Death of Lermontov in duel Death of first guardian Alexandra Osten~Saken, an aunt. The Tolstoy children move to Kazan to live with another aunt, Pelageya Yushkova r842 Gogol's Dead Souls r844 Enters Kazan University, reads Oriental languages: r845 Transfers to Law after failing examinations. Dissolute lifestyle: drinking, visits to prostitutes r846 Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'Poor Folk' I 84 7 Inherits estate of Yasnaya Polyana. Recovering from gonorrhoea, compiles scheme for self-perfection. Leaves university without com­ pleting studies, 'on grounds of ill health and domestic circumstances' I848-50 In Moscow and St Petersburg, debauchery and gambling, large debts. Studies music r850 Ivan Turgenev's A Month in.the Country r85r Travels to the Caucasus with Nikolay, who is serving in the Vlll CHRONOLOGY CHRONOLOGY ix army there. Reads Laurence Sterne: starts translating his Sentimental Journey (not completed). Writes 'A History of Yesterday' (un­ Serves as Arbiter of the Peace, dealing with post-Emancipation finished, first evidence of his powers of psychological analysis). land settlements. Quarrels with Turgenev and challenges him (no Begins writing Childhood · . . duel). Travels in France, Germany, Italy and England. Loses great I852 Enters the army as a cadet {junker); based mainly in the Cossack deal of money through gambling. Meets Proudhon in Brussels station of Staroglad Kovskaya. Sees action against the Chechens, . I862 Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and narrowly escapes capture Starts a magazine at Yasnaya Polyana on education for the Death of Gogol. Turgenev's Sketches from a Hunter's Album peasants; abandoned after less than a year. Police raid on Yasnaya Childhood Polyana. Considers emigrating to England and writes protest to the I853 Turkey declares war on Russia Tsar. Marries Sofya Andreyevna Behrs (b. 1844) 'The Raid' I863 Polish rebellion I854 France and England declare war on Russia. Crimean War starts Birth of first child, Sergey (Tolstoy and his wife were to have Commissioned, serves on Danube front. November: transferred thirteen children - nine boys and four girls - of whom five died in at own request to Sevastopol, then under siege by allied forces. childhood). Begins work on a novel 'The Decembrists', which was B~~~ - . later abandoned, but developed into War and Peace I855 Death of Nicholas I; accession of Alexander II - 'Polikushka', The Cossacks - In action until the fall of Sevastopol in August. Gains celebrity I865 Nikolay Leskov's 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District' with 'Sevastopol in December' and the following sketches 'Sevastopol First part of War and Peace (titled 1805) in May', 'Sevastopol in August' {I856), 'Memoirs of a Billiard 1866 Attempted assassination of Tsar Alexander II Marker', 'The Woodfelling' - _ Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment I856 Peace signed between Russia, Turkey, France and England I867 Turgenev's Smoke Turgenev's Rudin . Visits Borodino in search of material for battle scene in War dnd In St Petersburg, moves in-literary circles; associates with Turgenev, Peace Ivan Goncharov, Nikolay Nekrasov, Afanasy Fet and others. Leaves 1868 Dostoyevsky's The Idiot army due to illness. Death of brother Dmitry · . 1869 Publication of War and Peace completed · 'The Snowstorm', 'Two Hussars', 'A Landowner's Morning' I870-71 Franco-Prussian War. Municipal Government reform I857 February-August First trip abroad, to Paris {lasting impression Dostoyevsky's Devils. of witnessing ari execution by guillotine), Geneva and Baden-Baden Studies ancient Greek. Illness; convalesces in Samara (Bashkiriya). Youth, 'Lucerne'. . Begins work on primer for children. First mention of Anna Karen.ina. I85~ Long-term relationship with peasant woman on estate, Aksinya Reads Arthur Schopenhauer and other philosophers. Starts work Bazykina, begins on novel about Peter the Great {later abandoned) 'Albert' I87~ 'God Sees the Truth But Waits', 'A Prisoner of the Caucasus' ·1 I859 Goncharov's Oblomov; Turgenev's Home of the Gentry 1873 Begins Anna Karenina. Raises funds during famine in Bashkiriya, Founds primary school at Yasanaya Polyana , where he has bought an estate. Growing obsession with problems 'Three Deaths', Family Happiness of death and religion; temptation to commit suicide I869 Death of Nikolay from tuberculosis at Hyeres (France) I874 Much occupied with educational theory Dostoyevsky's Notes from the House of the Dead (1860-61) I875 Beginning of active revolutionary movement Turgenev's On the Eve , · I875-7 Instalments of Anna Karenina published (in book form in 1878) . I860-61 Emancipation.of serfs (1861). Formation of revolutionary I Land and Liberty movement. Commencement of intensive indus­ 1877 Turgenev's Virgin Soil trialization; spread of railways. Elective District Councils (zemstvos) Journal publication of Anna Karenina completed set up; judicial reform 1877-8 Russo-Turkish War I878 Reconciliation with Turgenev, who visits him at Yasnaya xi X CHRONOLOGY CHRONOLOGY

Polyana. Works on 'The Decembrists' and again abandons it. Works works. His family thus suffers financially, though his wife retains on Confession (completed 188 2, but banned by the religious censor copyright in all the earlier works. Helps to organize famine relief in and published in Geneva in 1884) Ryazan province. Attacks smoking.and alcohol in 'Why Do Men · 1879 Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov Stupefy Themselves?' 1880 Works on Critique of Dogmatic Theology 1892 Organizes famine relief. Fruits of Englightenment (published 1881 Assassination of Tsar Alexander II. With ascensi~n of Alexander 1891) produced in Maly Theatre, Moscow , III, the government returns to reactionary policies 1893 Finishes 'Kingdom of God Is Within You' Death of Dostoyevsky 1894 Accession of Tsar Nicholas II. Strikes in St Petersburg Writes to Tsar Alexander III asking him to pardon his father's Writes preface to Maupassant collection of stories. Criticizes assassins Crime and Punishment · 1882 Student riots in St Petersburg and Kazan universities. Jewish 1895 Meets Chekhov. Power of Darkness produced in Maly Theatre, pogroms and repressive measures against minorities Moscow Religious works, including new translation of the Gospels. 'Master and Man' Begins 'Death of Ivan Ilyich' and What Then Must We Do?. Studies 1896 Chekhov's The Seagull Hebrew Sees production of Hamlet and King Lear at Hermitage Theatre, 1883 Deathbed letter from Turgenev urging Tolstoy not to abandon severely critical of Shakespeare his art 1897 Appeals to authorities on behalf of Dukhobors, a pacifist 1884 Family relations strained, first attempt to leave home. 'What I religious sect, to whom permission is granted to emigrate to Canada Believe' banned What is Art? Collected works published by his wife 1898 Formation of Social Democratic Party. Dreyfus Affair 1885 Tension with his wife over new beliefs. Works closely with W ork_s for famine relief Vladimir Chertkov, with whom (and others) he.founds a publishing 1899 Wide~pread student riots house, The- Intermediary, to produce edifying literature for the Serial publication of Resurrection (in book form in 1900) . common folk. Many popular stories written 1885-6, including 1900 Meets Maxim Gorky, whom he calls a 'real man of the people' 'What Men Live By', 'Where Love Is, God Is', '.Strider' 1901 Foundation of Socialist Revolutionary Party 1886 Walks from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana in five days. Works Excommunicated from Orthodox Church for writing works on land during the summer. Denounced as a heretic by Archbishop 'repugnant to Christ and the Church'. S~riously ill, convalesces in of Kherson Crimea; visitors include Chekhov and Gorky Death of Ivan Ilyich, 'How Much Land Does a Man Need?', 1902 Finishes 'What is Religion?'. Writes to Tsar Nicholas II on evils What Then Must We Do? of autocracy and ownership of property · 1887 Meets Leskov 1903 Protests against Jewish pogroms in Kishinev ') 'On Life' I 'After the Ball' 1888 Chekhov's The Steppe 1904 Russian fleet destroyed in Tsushin:ia Straits. Assassination of Renourn;es meat, alcohol and tobacco. Growing friction between V. K. Plehve, Minister of the Interior his wife and Chertkov. The Power of Darkness, banned in 1886, Death of Chekhov performed in Paris Death of second-eldest brother Sergey. Pamphlet on Russo­ 1889 Finishes 'Kreutzer Sonata'. Begins Resurrection (works on it for Japanese war published in England ten years) · · 'Sh(lkespeare and the Drama' 1890 'Kreutzer Sonata' banned, though on appeal by his wife to 'the· 1905 Attempted revolution in Russia (attacks all sides involved). Tsar publication was permitted in Collected Works Potemkin mutiny. S.Y. Witte becomes Prime Minister 1891 Convinced that personal profits from writing are .immoral, Anarchical publicist pamphlets renounces copyright on all works published after 1881 and all future Introduction to Chekhov's 'Darling' XU CHRONOLOGY

I908 Tolstoy's secretary N. N. Gusev exiled 'I Cannot Be Silent', a protest against capital punishment I9O9 Increased animosity between his wife and Chertkov, she threatens suicide Introduction I9IO Corresponds with Mahatma Gandhi concerning latter's doctrine of non-violent resistance to evil. His wife threatens suicide; demands · all Tolstoy's diaries for past ten years, but Tolstoy puts them in bank vault. Final breakdown of relationship with her. 28 October: leaves home. 7 November: dies at Astapovo. railway station. Buried at Yasnaya Polyana I9II 'The Devil', 'Father Sergius', 'Hadji Murat', 'The Forged Coupon' PEACE AND WAR

Although War and Peace has often been described as the greatest novel ever written, Tolstoy once claimed it wasn't a novel at all. Henry James, giving the title as Peace and War, ~ailed it a fluid pudding and included it in a list of 'large, loose baggy monsters' .1 By contrast, it has also been compared to The Iliad in scope and technique, and Prince Dmitri Mirsky, the distinguished emigre historian of Russian literature, called it 'the most important work in the whole of Russian realistic fiction'. 2 Tolstoy's protestation that it wasn't a novel had a particular pur­ pose. He wanted his readers to expect something broader and deeper than the romances they were used to finding in fiction. There would be no single hero and heroine, no straightforward system of exposition, crisis and resolution, no orthodox ending. It was a book in which Tolstoy made up new rules as it expanded: a society novel that turned into a family story, only to grow into a historical chronicle and a · mighty epic that was underwritten by a deep interest in individual destinies and intimate human detail. It was a fifteen-year tranche of human experience (1805-~o), fictional and real, located in Russian society in an age of critical importance for Europe as a whole, and Tolstoy made an unprecedented attempt to bring together the widest possible range of interests - personal, social, psychological and histori­ cal. But most important is his instinctive skill as a teller of stories and creator of characters. The lasting quality of War and Peace lies in its compelling narrative and fascinating people, imagined and historical. Perhaps Peace and War might have been a more appropriate title, because only about a third of the action takes place on or near the battlefield. Anyone coming to this novel for the first time can be assured of one thing: you are going to enjoy some very good stories. But first we need to sketch in some background. Tolstoy begins his novel by throwing an even}ng party to welcome his characters and his XIV INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION xv

readers. The year is I 80 5 and Napoleon's aggressive actions, especially the recent seizure of Genoa and Lucca, seem likely to threaten Rus~ia's LIFE AND LOVE western borders. The huge and bumbling Pierre Bezukhov and the neat, self-assured Prince Andrey Bolkonsky are guests, and their matur­ But Tolstoy knows that you cannot spend all your time phiio~ophizing. ation and misadventures will form the main interest of the novel. At The sheer thrill of being· alive, the excitement of surrendering to the first the two young men have everything going for them. Pierre inherits moment and revelling in pleasure, are infectiously represented in a a huge fortune and marries well. The efficient Andrey will find success series of set pieces. Sometimes the occasion is exquisite enough to be in all that he does as a landowner and soldier. But both of these gifted the high point in an individual's life. It is hard to imagine Co~nt llya and fortunate men will make many mistakes, feel constantly unhappy with the· course of their lives, take appallingly bad decisions and have Rostov ever being -any happier than when he dances the Dame! Cooper' at home (Volume I, Part I, Chapter un~ess it is when he to live with the consequences. The same applies to the leading female I?_), proposes a toast to General Bagration at a lavish dmner that he has character, Natasha, whose prog!ess from childhood to full maturity put on·at the English Club with money he cannot aff~rd to spend_ (II, is so convincingly depicted that she has been described as 'certainly I, 3). For senior soldiers there is the glorious opportumty to be noticed the most wonderfully made character in any novel'.3 The strength of War and Peace is in the weakness of its characters. The novel is a by an emperor; hence the obsequious behaviour of an e_lderly gen~ral before Tsar Alexander I (I, II, 3), and the suicidal rush mto the River detailed casebook of human inadequacy and imperfection; so many avoidable errors are made that it will be a long time before content­ Viliya by a Polish general anxious to please_ Napoleon, which costs ment ·and equilibrium start to emerge, and for some of the characters the lives of forty men but wins him a medal (III, I, 2). Even _young new insight comes too late. Petya Rostov is borne away with mindless rapture at the mere sight of the Tsar (III, I, 2I). By contrast, almost all of the young_er charact~rs Oscar Wilde said that what made Russian writers' books 'so great 4 find sublime happiness in falling in love, and at.one pomt the entire is the pity they put in them'. They have seen life, tackled it and tried Rostov household seems to be dizzy from it: their best, and they know a truth that rarely declares itself, especially in stories that are meant for entertainment. It is this: virtually everyone Love was in.. the air at the Rostovs' at this time, as it always is when there - even people in advantageous or privileged circumstances - finds the living of life a worrying and difficult business most of the time. The are very young and ve_ry charming girls around. Any young man arriving novel takes us in rich detail through all the seven ages of man from at their house and seeing those young girls' faces, so sensitive and always childhood to old age, and explores their difficulties, all of which are smiling (p~obably at their own good fortune) amid all the chasing and played out under the gathering shadow of death, the one certainty. As scurrying, and hearing all their frivolous girlish chatter, so good-n~tured, another Russian writer, Boris Pasternak, concluded in the novel Dr open to everything, brimming with hope, and their equally fr'.volous singing and music-making, enjoyed the same sensations of love-s1_ck~ess Zhivago: 'Living life is riot just a walk across a field.' 5 and impending bli_ss that the young Rostovs were themselves en1oymg. But there is more. Only a few of the 500 characters in the novel pause to think about the complex and difficult process by which (II, I, IO) human lives evolve, bll;t Pierre and Andrey are never happier than when unhappily gnawing at the meanings, difficult choices and hidden There are many occasions for tears of joy. Dancing is one such: for possibilities that may or may not underlie human existence and search­ example, Natasha's instinctive Russian d~ncin~ afte_r the h_unt (II, IV, ing for clues to make life better and easier. A series of vital questions is 7) is a reminder of her father's happy evemng with ~h~ Dame! Coop~r, waiting for them and for the reader: What and where is happiness? How her own unspeakable delight at her first ball, whirlm~ around with do you distinguish it from fun? How is it possible to live on in the sure Prince Andrey (II, III, I6) and Denisov's amazing mazurka at log~l's and certain knowledge of death? Is the concept of God any help? What (II, I, I2). It is useful to emphasize such bliss not lea~t beca1:se ~ussian are the roles of fate and luck in human experience? How can a person literature has a reputation for gloomy introspect10n which is only find complete freedom"? Are there any ultimate philosophical truths partly deserved. It gives the novel its most unusual quality, Tolst~y's that we can rely on? What should you do with a human life? ability to lead us through disappointment, fr~stration and tragedy with- . out bitterness or _cynicism. He declares, agamst all odds, the goodness INTRODUCTION xvii INTRODUCTION I I. I of living. This is the spirit of the whole novel; you will see it at its best in I He now avoided society, living and working at Yasnaya Polyana, Volumdl, Part IV - all thirteen chapters. wearing a peasant's shirt and doing much manual work, he renounced · writing, violence, stimulants ·of all kinds, including meat-eating, and he required impeccable moral standards of all. This was his new LIFE AND DEATH religion: the best of Jesus, without his church. His moral stance - especially his pacifism - attracted interest from all over the world, and War and Peace was written during one of the few periods in Leo Tolstoyan communities were formed in several countries by disciples·. 1:olstoy's life when he had a sense of tranquillity and purpose. Superla­ But he was impossible to live with. His lack of love and charity towards tives are needed to describe him: a big, strong man with a formidable those closest to him, especially his wife, remains as a blot on his intellect, powerful emotions, and extraordinary qualities and defects reputation. He did continue to write, including The Death of Ivan that ran to extremes. He lived a long life, and left behind work that Ilyich (r886), Resurrection (r899) and Hadji Murat .(r9rr), and a fills ninety large printed volumes, the biggest and richest individual moving five-act tragedy. of gruesome subject matter, The Power of contribution to the treasure-house of nineteenth-century Russian Darkness (r890). culture. But at the age of eighty-two Tolstoy, estranged from all his family Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born in r 8 28 into the Russian aristoc­ except for one daughter, Alexandra, fled with her, for a monastery. racy, at Yasnaya Polyana, r30 miles south-west of Moscow. His He fell ill at a (now famous) railway junction, where he died. His body pare~ts died when he was young, but he and his siblings grew up was interred at the top of a small ravine at Yasnaya, where as a small happily, cocooned by female relatives. At the age of sixteen he entered boy he had searched for a little green stick on which was supposedly the_university ~t K~zan ?ut failed his courses and returned ;o Yasnaya, inscribed a secret· formula guaranteeing permanent happiness and which he had Just rnhented. By then, aged nineteen he had contracted brotherly love. his first dose of venereal disease, a continuing risk d~ring the following years of debauchery and gambling in Moscow and St Petersburg. Tolstoy's largely autobiographical Childhood was accepted by the LIFE AND LITERATURE Co1:tempora?' ~n I 8 5 2, the first writing he had submitted for publi­ cat10n. Despite its modest aims and rather dry realism, it was popular However, when newly married and fully occupied in his mid thirties, and was followed by Boyhood (r854) and Youth (r8 57). Even greater Tolstoy had looked for the rewards of family happiness (the title of a success attended the three-part Sevastopol in. December, May and story written in r8 59), and for a few years he found them. Sonya August (r 8 5 5-6) - which presented his experiences and observations devoted herself to him and to their children, ran the home and the as an artillery officer while leading men under fire during the Crimean business side of the estate, and found time to help him with his work. war (r854-6), and undermined the false glamour of warfare. He soon A woman of striking intelligence, she had a good education at home became well known in St Petersburg literary circles, though he found and at university, where she had obtained a teaching diploma. She celebrity uncongenial and hurried back to Yasnaya. had also tried writing, and a short novel which she destroyed was said Tolstoy was occupied with War and Peace throughout the r86os. by her sister to have contained the germ of the relationship between 6 T~e serious writing began iri. r863, just as his first son was born. His Natasha Rostov and her mother. Now Sonya would transcribe what wife Sony~ (short form of Sofya Andreyevna) was only eighteen, and Tolstoy had written during the day, and once claimed to have written she bo~e him another twelve children. He devoted the r87os to Anna out much of War and Peace no fewer than seven times. She discussed Karenina, and despite his artistic and commercial success, he became the story with her husband, decoded his difficult handwriting and obses~ed by thoughts of his own mortality and tormented by a religious corrected minor errors of spelling and grammar. Her hand in the yearnrng that could not be reconciled with the activities of the Church shaping of his work was strong and decisive; it may have been more and ~e tho_ught constantly about suicide; this spiritual crisis is minute!; influential than has ever been fully acknowledged. descnbed m A Confession (r878-9). · The novel grew and grew. In r 8 5 6 Tolstoy had drafted several Eventually he came through it, but his life was radically changed. chapters about a man who had returned from exile in Siberia, for his INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION XIX involvement in the abortive Decembrist upnsmg of 1825. Then Tolstoy pushed back in history to 1812, and finally to 1805: he would HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY start when Napoleon, a self-appointed emperor, moved against the Austrian-Russian coalition. Tolstoy planned that events in 1825 and The inclusion of Tolstoy's reflections on the workings .of history and 1856 would form later volumes·of a trilogy. But his main interest was the methods used by historians has always been controversial. But the in writing about the joys and misfortunes of aristocratic family life. common accusation that these musings bog down the novel, making Plans and drafts were adopted, revised, abandoned and replaced in 7 it a struggle to get through, is quite false. At an early stage he realized profusion. In 18 6 5 thirty-eight chapters were published in the Russian the danger of this, and swept them all out of the main story into an Messenger, and came out in book form the following year, under the appendix (Epilogue, Part II). The few that are left are discreetly title I 80 5; still at this stage only a relatively short work was envisaged. deployed. A short reflective passage is sometimes used to punctuate Later Tolstoy .decided on a new title, All's Well That Ends Well, but events - for example to introduce new sections in a measured and _as the historical and military interest developed this was reflected in thoughtful manner. (See the opening chapters of all three parts of the final title, adopted in March 1867. Sonya insisted on abandoning Volume III.) The epilogue itself may seem too long or repetitive, but serial publication, for good financial reasons - there was more money it certainly adds to the scope of the novel, and should not be ignored. to be made from publishing (and republishing) in book form than Tolstoy's ideas on warfare, history and historians are s:ill relevan~ to from a journal - and the novel came out in six volumes in 1868 and the modern world. Consider, for instance the followmg quotat10n 1869. from Sir Winston Churchill: 'Never, never, never believe that any war Tolstoy drew heavily on real-life sources. For military scenes, his will be smooth and easy ... The Statesman who yields to war fever extensive research, including memoirs, and his own first-hand experi­ must realise that once the signal is given, he is no· longer the master , 9 ence guaranteed the sureness of his grip on the details of battle. For of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.' characters, his family contributed: his maternal grandfather, Nikolay This is a sharp summary of one concept developed by Tolstoy in the Volkonsky, monster that.he must·have been, provided a prototype for epilogue. -- . . . . Andrey's father; his own father for Nikolay Rostov; and his wife's Another example can be seen in the popular political view that sister, the impish Tanya, for Natasha. The dualism in Tolstoy's own when the British Prime Minister retired from office in 2007 he did so personality is reflected in Andrey and Pierre - intellect versu~ spirit, having secured peace in Ireland after generations of bloody conflict, discipline versus laxity, stiff pride versus spontaneity and generosity. and that this was perhaps the most important part of his 'legacy'. Mt As the Russian novelist arid critic Dmitri Merezhovsky said: 'The Blair pulled the levers: peace resulted. Do you believe it? Tolstoy tells artistic work of Leo Tolstoy is at bottom nothing less than one t_remen­ us that this is an unsophisticated view of how history works. It is 8 dous diary, kept for fifty years, one endless, explicit confession. ' probably truer to say that Mr Blair happened to be in the ri_ght ?lace There had been much discussion of the novel in Russia a~ it had (and thus eligible for credit) at a time when all the mult1tudmous emerged, and not all of it was complimentary. But by 1870 the first circumstances leading up to the final peace settlement (war-weariness edition had sold out, and the author was basking in national acclaim among them) came together to end the conflict for good. It could have - and we know from her diaries that his wife was well satisfied with been the previous prime minister, or the next one, or somebody else; her supportive role. Both were pleased with the money that rolled in it happened to be Tony Blair. . . · from royalties, though Tolstoy soon came to regard such earnings as These are the kind of ideas that Tolstoy advances in his epilogue. immoral. His general purpose is to debunk. Most of all, he wants to cut Napo­ leon down to size, not only because he was a hated enemy of -Russia, but because he was also a ludicrous figure of overweening, pompou~ pride. At the same time Tolstoy is keen to take issue with the traditional writers of history, who distort the truth by their narrow-minded atti­ tudes and over-simplification. As Henry Gifford wrote: 'War and Peace hasJts pages of pamphleteering. But they cannot be torn out, xx INTRODUCTION

because the argument is continuous. On every page lies the imprint of the same evolving experience.'10 The 1860s were a golden decade in Russian literature. In 1862 Ivan Turgenev published Fathers and Children, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky Translator's Note was at his most prolific, issuing Notes from Underground in 1864, Crime and Punishment in 1866, The Idiot in 1867-8, and starting work on Devils in 1869. A measu·re of the achievement of War and

Peace is that it transcends even these masterpieces. Virginia Woolf Ii made the point succinctly: 'There remains the greatest of all novelists .! - for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?' 11 This novel has been well served by its several translators into English. Only the very first attempt suffers from serious shortcomings, but it NOTES was a brave undertaking by Clara Bell, .less than twenty years after publication (188 5-6). She worked from a French text created by a I. Preface to The Tragic Muse (r907-9), and letter to Hugh Walpole, woman identified only as 'Une Russe', and her version is surprisingly r9 May r9r2; see Henry Gifford (ed.), Leo Tolstoy: A Critical An­ effective, though niuch of the original has been omitted and what thology (Harmondsworth, Penguin, r97r), pp. ro4-5. survives is nearer to paraphrase than translation. The early translations 2. D.S. Mirsky, A History of Russian Literature (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, r960), p. 258. by N. H. Dole (1889) and Leo. Wiener (1904) were more accurate, 3. Op. cit., p. 260. though they still contain plenty of small slips, and their American 4. Alvin Redman (ed.), The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde (London, Bracken phrasing now has an archaic ring. Constance Garnett, the admirable Books, r995), p. 86. early doyen~e of Russian literature in English translation, produced a

5a Boris Pasternak, Pr Zhivago, translated by Max Hayward and Manya sensitive version in 1904; she had a delicate feel for "language, though Harari (London, Collins and Harvill Press, r 9 58). there are some errors. Then, in 1923, came the masters, Louise and 6. See Aylmer Maude, The Life of Tolstoy: First Fifty Years (Oxford, Aylmer Maude, who lived in Russia and had the advantage of being Oxford University Press, n.d.), Vol. I, p. 286. able to consult Tolstoy himself. He gave their work his personal 7. A short 'early version' of War and Peace was published in Moscow endorsement, even claiming that 'better translators ... could not be (2000) based on published material, odd pages and extracts from invented' .1 _Their version of War and Peace, now fast approaching its notebooks up to r866. This was immediately rejected and transcended; centenary, is still read as a classic in its own right, and the errors that it is now df interest only to a few scholars. The recent English transla­ it contains are so few as to be negligible. It has been succeeded by tion of this abandoned draft, which omits valuable material from the Rosemary Edmonds's equally reliable (at times derivative) translation novel and radically alters the ending, should be ignored. · (19 57), which Penguin has·used for nearly half a century, (updated in 8. From D. Merezhovsky, Tolstoy· as Man and Artist (L. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky) (London, Constable, r902), cited in Gifford, Leo Tolstoy: 1978); and then by a sound American versio·n, by Ann Dunnigan, A Critical Anthology, p. rr3. in 1968. 9. Winston Churchill, My Early_ Years; cited in a reader's letter to The So why do we need another translation? Times, 5 February 2007. · · It is not unusual for the great classics to be retranslated every couple ro. Henry Gifford, Tolstoy (Oxford, Oxford University Press, r982), of generations. Language changes and, without worshipping modernity pp. 3o-3I. for its own sake, publishers recognize the need to accommodate new II. From Virginia Woolf, 'The Russian Point of View', cited in Gifford, readers by using phrasing more closely attuned to their way of speaking. Leo Tolstoy: A Critical Anthology, p. r88. Infelicities will be edited out, such as 'Andrey spent the evening-with a few gay friends', 'Natasha went about the house flushing', 'he exposed himself on the parade ground'. or 'he ejaculated with a grimace'; we cannot read phrases like these without raising an inappropriate smile. TRANSLATOR'S NOTE xxiii XXII TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

On the other hand, it is most important not to over-modernize. Temp­ or the misused 'Eh!' still abouml. In such old-fashioned phrasing ting though it may be, I cannot use popularized phrases like I have tried to make improvements. • 'buzzword', 'oddball' or 'hooliganism'. This is not to denigrate the translations that have been ~njoyed by Secondly, a translator hopes to squeeze out one or two errors or millions; it is merely to indicate that this version follows a translation ambiguities that still linger. Previous translators have missed the fact strategy that is slightly different from what has gone before. that that an object referred to in a famous Tolstoyan metaphor about In the introduction to his Don Quixote, John Rutherford divides things colliding and recoiling is not a ball in flight but a billiard ball translators into cavaliers and puritans. The cavalier takes some lib­ on the table; and t~ey all translated the phrase 'smotret' ispodlob'ya' erties; the puritan is a stickler for exactitude. Rutherford's intention as 'to look at from under the brows' when it means to look sullenly was to combine the virtues of both and avoid their vices, a sensible if or furtively. difficult plan. The previous translations of War and Peace have .erred But these reasons are hardly enough on their own to justify a new slightly too much on the puritan side, literal fidelity being set at a translation. There is one way in which all the existing versions fall higher premium than writing naturally in English. It is now time to 1 short: from Constance Garnett onwards they have been produced by move somewhat in the other direction. · women of a particular social and cultural background (Louise having Let me give a couple-of small examples. If a Russian asks, 'Did you contributed more than Aylmer to the ·Maudes' version), with some study in Kiev?', another Russian will respond by saying, 'In Kiev'. The resulting flatness and implausibility in the dialogue, especially that puritan will use that repetition, while the cavalier would give the between soldiers, peasants and all the lower orders. A specialist critic normal English speaker's response, 'Yes', or 'Yes, I did.' Similarly, puts it well, speaking of the Maudes, who are the most highly regarded when a Russian mother says to her child, 'Ne nado!', the puritan ~ill translators: 'Their work can always be counted on for ... negative be tempted to render this literally as 'That's not necessary!', whereas virtues: sobriety, explicitness, a firm hold on the argument. However, the cavalier will go for 'Don't!' their resources are limited in.range of tone. They have little sense of The reason for this puritanism is not far to seek. It lies in what colloquial idiom .. .'2 Rutherford.refers to as a 'mistaken attitude of reverence for the origi­ To take a specific example: Pierre, watching as a cannonball crashes nal artist beside whom it's all too easy to feel like humble artisans down into the Rayevsky redoubt and takes a man's leg off, hears who can only ever aspire to produce a pale sh~dow of the original. .. a another soldier call out in response: 'Ekh! Neskladnaya!' (III, II, 31). self-fulfilling predi<;tion ...Literary translators must conquer these 3 The English versions of this are: 'Ekh! You beastly thing!' (Dole); 'Oh, fears.' This is good advice. Without ever drifting too far away from awkward one!' (Weiner); 'Hey, awkward hussy!' (Garnett); 'Awkward the original, it does seem reasonable to aim for the kind of English baggage!' (Maude); 'Oh you hussy!' (Edmonds); 'Ah, you're a that would have occurred naturally in its context and now sounds bungler!' (Dunnigan). Curiously enough the best in terms of natural appropriate. . speech is Clara Bell's: 'Ah, you brute!' The original, with connotations Another way to look·at this is to imagine how the average Russian of both awkwardness and femininity, is rather difficult to translate, reads War and Peace and to try to recapture something similar in the but one thing is certain: no soldier in the heat of battle ever said translated text. Tolstoy's literary style has its faults - such as undue anything like most of the phrases we have been offered so far. repetition, grammatical inaccuracy and some sentences of excessive 4 The previous translations also have an excess of niceness and exac­ length - and many of them have to be faithfully reproduced in order titude that can sound jarring to today's readers. Natasha looks in the to avoid falsification, but by and large he is an easy read for a Russian mirror and says: 'Can this be I?' Lavrushka is sent off 'in quest of (and comparatively easy to translate). Stylistic angularities, shocks and fowls'. More than once we hear that 'Pierre fell to musing'. Elsewhere surprises are infrequent, and the dialogue in particular is individualized someone says: 'Ay, listen what folks are prating of'. Similarly, there but always natural. It seems most important to ensure in any translation must be better ways of saying: 'The crushing weight of his arm fell the same kind of smooth reading, and varied but ~ealistic-sounding dia­ impotent as though spellbound', or 'the resolutive moment of battle logue. In rendering colloquial speech, of course, a translator has to had come'. Non-existent English exclamations like 'Ay!', 'Ey!',-'Ekh!' choose a particular regional dialect and its idioms, and I have ·used a xxiv TRANSLATOR'S NOTE TRANSLATOR'S NOTE XXV

British English form of speech, without, I hope,. making the text Hou~e for Literature), edited by N. N. Akopova, N. K. Gudzy, N. N. unnatural for non-British readers. Gusev and M. B. Khrapchenko. The first edition ( 18 68-9) of the novel had long passages in French. But Tolstoy had second thoughts and removed most of them during a drastic revision in 1873. Previous translators cut these further and .NOTES provided translations in footnotes. But few readers today have a sound knowledge of French, so I have decided to translate all of it. I. War and Peace,· translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude (Oxford, Does this change matter? Sometimes it does, but it is possible io Oxford University Press, n.d.), vol. I, p. 442. . indicate that a speaker is using another language. It is not unusual for 2. - Henry Gifford, 'On Translating Tolstoy', in Malcolm Jones, ed, New Tolstoy himself to say (in Russian) for example, 'Since Pierre was Essays on Tolstoy, Cambridge University Press, 1978, p. 22. speaking French at the time he ... ' I have used this kind of formula 3. Cervantes, Don Quixote, translated by John Rutherford (London, on those few occasions when a linguistic choice or shift has real Penguin, 2000), pp. xv and xvi. · For further details see R. F. Christian, Tolstoy's 'War and Peace': A significance, e.g. in the second paragraph on the opening page. It 4. Study (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1962), PP: 148-66. remains true th11t certain characters - Bilibin, for example - lose some of their finesse because of this treatment, but there seems to be an overall gain in following the lead established by Tolstoy (and the. Maudes with his blessing) by making the text more directly accessible.

A NOTE ON THE TEXT

For almost a century several editions of War and Peace. vied for acceptance. The first book version appeared in six volumes (four in 1868 and two in 1869), but was riddled with errors, nearly 2,000 of them. Then, in 1873 Tolstoy published his revised edition. In the 1930s Russian scholars preparing the Jubilee Edition of the Complete Works of L. N. Tolstoy decided to use the fifth edition of 1886, even though Tolstoy had not been involved in its publication, but they did incorporate some of the 1873 emendations (a second edition was based on the 1873 text). When it was discovered later that numerous changes in the 1873 edition had been introduced by N. N. Strakhov, most of them without Tolstoy's approval, a team of scholars-led by E. I Zaydenshnur set about the formidable task of collating and comparing all versions, including the manuscripts, copies (mainly in Sonya Toi- .I . stoy's hand), annotated editions ·and corrected or half-corrected proofs, with the goal of eliminating any alterations introduced by outsiders. Their work bore fruit in the early 1960s, when a truly definitive text emerged; from which all subsequent editions derive. The present translation is based on the text of War and Peace prepared by E. Zaydenshnur in the 1960-65 twenty-volume Collected Works of L. N. Tolstoy, published by Goslitizdat (State Publishing EPHOGUE, PART II

As with astronqmy in days gone by, so today in matters of history the conflict of opinion depends on the recognition or non-recognition of an absolute entity for the measurement of visible phenomena. I~ astronomy it was the earth's immobility; in history it is personal Notes independence, or free will. - Just as in astronomy the problem of recognizing th~ earth's motion lay in the difficulty of getting. away from a direct° sensation of the earth's immobility and a similar sensation of the planets' motion, so in history the problem -of recognizing the dependence of personality on the laws of space, time and causation lies in the difficulty of getting away from the direct sensation of one's own personal independence. .. VOLUME I But just as in astronomy the new attitude was, 'No, we cannot feel the earth's movement, but if we accept its immobility we are reduced to PART I absurdity, whereas if we accept the movement that we cannot feel we I. Genoa and Lucca . . . Buonaparte family: Genoa and Lucca were a;rive at laws,: so in history the new attitude is, 'No, we cannot feel territories recently annexed by France. Napoleon's Corsican name was our dependence, but if we accept free will we are reduced to absurdity, Napoleone Buonaparte; the original version (with a 'u') is used here whereas if we· accept dependence on the external world; time and as a deliberate insult. causation we arrive at laws.' 2. Novosiltsev's dispatch:· N. N. Novosiltsev was a .special ambassador In the first case, we had to get away from a false sensation of sent to Paris by Emperor Alexander to assist with (ultimately abortive) immobility in space and accept movement that we could not feel. In peace ·negotiations. the present case it is no less essential to get away from a false sensation 3. 'Oh, don't talk to me about Austria!': Only a few weeks earlier (in of freedom and accept a dependence that we cannot feel. April 1805) the Tp.ird Coalition had been formed between Great Britain, Austria and Russia. Their plan was to defeat Napoleon by means of a three-pronged attack. The Russians had been let down before by the Austrians, and there were many who believed they could not be relied on now. 4. the hydra of revolution ... murdering villain: The French Revolution is still fresh in the memory. In its wake revolutionary stirrings were being sensed in other European countries, including Russia. Napoleon, with his common background, seems to embody tfie new republican spirit which threatens the stability of countries ruled by monarchs. 5. She has refused to evacuate Malta: Malta had been taken by Napoleon in r798, and then captured by the British in r8oo. Under the Peace of Amiens Great Britain was due to leave the island, but refused to do so. Russia's offer to mediate between the British and the French was rejected, and the two countries went to war in 1803, with Russia supporting the British against Napoleon. 6. Wintzengerode: Many of the characters are real people; the most important ones are identified as 'Historical Figures in War and Peace' in 'The Characters' (p. 1372). 7. Lavater ... paternity bump:]. K. Lavater (r74r-18or) was a Swiss physiognomist, one of the forerunners of phrenology, a pseudo-science NOTES NOTES based on the idea that bumps on the skull indicate various mental capacities. 25. 8. Mr Pitt: William Pitt (1759-1806), one of Britain's finest prime minis­ the Duke of Enghien: The Duke of Enghien was shot by the French ters, was a bitter opponent· of the French Revolution and now of in 1804, after being wrongfully accused of plotting to assassinate Napoleon. . - Napoleon._ 26. 9. Bdulogne expedition . . : Villeneuve: At this time Napoleon was gather­ Louis XV: King of France from 1715 until his death in 1774. IO. ing his forces at Boulogne, on the English Channel, in preparation for the Social Contract: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Contrat Social (1762), a an invasion of England. Admiral Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve (1763- treatise on government and citizenship, was regarded by some people 1806) was ordered to leave the Mediterranean and join them. In the as a cause of the violent excesses of the French Revolution of 1789. II. event Villeneuve was blockaded, and Napoleon's navy was destroyed the r8th Brumaire: The date on the French Revolutionary Calendar at the Battle of Trafalgar. (9 November 1799) of a successful coup, following which Napoleon a thousand roubles to get Taras: Even by Count Rostov's extravagant became First Consul. 'Brumaire' was the second month in the French standards this is a very large sum of money, which suggests that the Revolutionary Calendar, 22 October-20 November. Brume is French serf, Taras, must have had special training under a. French chef. for 'fog'. 28. I2. boston: A popular variation of whist. all those prisoners ... killed in Africa: A reference to Napoleon's 29. Cossack: The Cossacks were free peasants living in southern Russia, authorization of the brutal killing of 3,000 Turkish prisoners at Jaffa renowned for their wild behaviour. The countess is virtually (and in September 1799. · affectionately) calling her a little savage. Jacobin: Popular name for one of the French revolutionary societies 30. Suvorov: A. S. Suvorov (1729-1860), a Russian general who, after which met in the hall of a Jacobin convent. ' inany successful campaigns, ended his career in ignominious retreat Napoleon on the bridge at Arcola ... plague-victims: At Arcola in over the Alps from Italy into Austria (1799). 1796, leading the French against the Austrians, Napoleon had risked 3I. 'The Spring': A song dubiously attributed to Mozart that Tolstoy used his life by rushing on to a bridge carrying a flag. In Jaffa in I799 he to sing to his pupils. had taken another risk by visiting a plague hospital. 32. -15. Nikolay's my cousin: The Russian Orthodox Church normally pro­ Caesar's Commentaries: Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic hibited marriage between first cousins, though this prohibition could · War, one of the foundation stones of military history written by a ;ometimes be circumvented by obtaining special permission. highly successful general. I6. 33. ecossaise ... Daniel Cooper ... anglaise: The 'ecossaise' is a lively a freemason: Freemasons were a byword for!iberal thinking, but were country dance (not to be confused with the 'schottische' (German· - also regarded by the authorities as proto-revolutionaries. It isn't clear · both mean 'Scottish'), which is a round dance akin to the polka) in here which way Pierre is thinking. which the performers stand opposite each other, often- in couples. typical of Petersburg in June: It is actually July; Tolstoy must mean it . 'Anglaise' is a vague term often applied in the eighteenth and nine­ is like t:he best nights in June. IS. teenth centuries to country dances of putative English character. It name-day: A saint's day celebrated by Russians who were named after allowed for many variations, of which the 'Daniel Cooper' was one. that particular·saint, here St Natalya's Day. 34. I9. 'Our eagle!':· Peasant language, and Russian folklore, often used birds Catherine's time: Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia from - eagle, falcon, dove, etc. - as terms of endearment or pride in family 1762 to 1796. 20. members. S~lomoni: ~n Italian opera-singer resident in Russia and· appearing 35. Voltaire armchair: A deep chair with a high back associated with the with a touring German company in the winter of 1805-6. 2I. French writer and historian F. M. Arouet (Voltaire) (1694-1778). Madame -~e Gen/is: F~licite Ducrest de Saint-Aubin (1746-1830), a the reign of Paul: Catherine was succeeded by her son Paul. His short French wnter of popular romances with strong moral content, a reign (1796-1801) ended by his being murdered in a palace coup. byword with the children for boring grown-up repectabi!ity. 37. 22. 'From your Hiloise?': An ironical reference to the heroine of Rous­ Count Orlov: Count Alexey Orlov was a popular and generous Mos­ seau's novel, Julie, OU La Nouvelle Heloise, which the prince regards cow grandee, famous for his lavish hospitality and entertainment. · as romantic nonsense. The ensuing correspondence between Princess 23. errare humanum est: It is human to err (Latin). 24. Marya and Julie Karagin is based on 'a whole volume' of similadetters his last duty: This duty is to receive extreme unction, be anointed with exchanged between two friends, M. A.· Volkova and V. I. Lanskaya, consecrated oil by a priest. which Tolstoy read in manuscript in 1863. . 38. a new book with uncut pages: The book has come from the publisher LJb2 NOTES NOTES

with the folded leaves untrimmed. Thus the first reader uses a page- army had hurried into position, believing Napoleon to be busy with knife to slit them open. . , preparations for the invasion of England. When the news came through 39. A Key to the Mystery: K. Eckartshausen's mystical work, A Key to the that Napoleon was already at the Rhine it was essential to speed up ' Mysteries of Nature, was popular in Russia at the time, and widely the movement of the Russians, so they were supplied with carts, which read by freemasons. · doubled the rate of their advance. the Great. Century: The French term 'Le Gra~d Siecle' meant the age 6. doppel-kummel: A strong liqueur flavoured with cumin and caraway of Louis XIV (r6~8-r7r5), King of France (r643-1715). Here it is seeds (German). , loosely applied by the Russians to the age of Catherine the Great. 7. shakos: Tall, nearly cylindrical military caps with plumes. 4I. it is easier for a camel ... kingdom of God: Quoted from Matthew 8. sabretache: Flat ornamental bag slung from a cavalry officer's sword 19:24 and Mark 10:25. belt. . 42. a Dussek sonata: Jan Ladislav Dussek, born in Bohemia in 1760 and 9. Campo Formio: The little town where the French and the Austrians died near Paris in 1812, enjoyed great popularity in Europe as a signed the peace treaty (17 October 1797) which ended Napoleon's first-rate pianist and composer of piano pieces. successful campaign in Italy. 43. ;j Mikhe!son's army, and Tolstoy's: The old prince refers to a plan for IO. Demosthenes ... golden mouth: According to legend the Greek orator attackmg the French from three sides at once, Generals Mikhelson and Demosthenes (3 83~322 BC) corrected a speech impediment by practis- Tolstoy commanding two of the armies involved. ing oratory with a pebble in his mouth. · 44. Marlborough . . . God knows when we'll see him: A French comic II. all three are Gascons: The Gascons were renowned for' their clever song that became popular early in the eighteenth century, when the talk and boasting. Du~e of Madborough led· the English army in several campaigns I2. Napoleon rose from obscurity at Toulon: During the siege of Toulon, agamst.the French. · a royalist stronghold, in r793, Napoleon commanded the republican 45. Rurik: A Scandinavian prince, who, according to legend, came down artillery with distinction and gained his first significant promotion to to Novgorod in the ninth century and founded the Russian state. brigadier-general, at the age of twenty-four. Potyomkins: G. A. Potyomkin (r739-91) was a famous Russian army r3. Chasseur~: Cavairy. commander of the late eighteenth century. · . 47. Hofs-kriegs-wurst-schnapps-rath: Court-war-sausage-schnapps-council PART III- (German). This is the prince's ironical version of the name bestowed on the Austrian War Council. I. state councillor: The Russian civil service was divided into eleven Ochakov: A fortress, at the mouth of the Dnieper, succ~ssfully stormed ranks, the top eight of which conferred hereditary nobility. A state by General Suvorov during the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-9r. councillor occupied the fifth rank and was entitled to be addressed as 49. Zubov ... false teeth: There is an easy pun here on the Russian word · 'your Worship'. zub, which means tooth. · , 2. Emperor Alexander's visit to Potsdam: In October 1805 Alexander I had gone to Berlin to soiicit Friedrich Wilhelm Ill's support in opposing PART II Napoleon. Their secret agreement signed at Potsdam was overtaken by events on the battlefield. I. nth of October 1805: Until r918 Russia used the Julia!). Calendar, as 3. Paris possessing his Helen: In Greek legend Paris, the son of Priam op~osed t? the Gregorian Calendar universally accepted today. At this (King of Troy), precipitated the siege of Troy by abandoning his wife, penod Julian (or 'Old Style') dates lagged behind Gregorian (or 'New Oenone, and abducting the beautiful Helen. Style') dates by a difference of twelve days. The dates used throughout 4· petizanfan, alley cooshey dormir: Phonetic version of the French 'petits War and Peace are predominantly Old Style. - enfants, allez coucher dorn;zir' ('off you go to bed, little children.'). 2. Tsaritsyn Field: Tsar's Field, soon to be renamed 'The Field of Mars' was in Petersburg. ' · ' 3. Bacchus: The Roman god of wine. 4. letban1s: Soldiers, like peasants, did not wear socks; they were issued with stnps of cloth for use as foot-bindings. · 5. Got a move on then, didn't we?: Neither the Russian nor the.Austrian NOTES NOTES

suppressed, it was undergoing a period of prosperity under VOLUME II Alexander I. 3. · i:l leading .freemason and Martinist since the days of Novikov: The PART I Martinists were a branch of Russian freemasonry founded in r780, taking their name from L. C. de Saint Martin, a noted theosophist. r. Will you call her 'tu' or 'vous': Russian is like French in using the second person plural in a formal situation and the second person N. I. Novikov (r744-1818) was a satirical journalist and freemason singular between intimates. Sonya and Nikolay are at that delicate who had been imprisoned under Catherine the Great for his outspoken stage when it might, or might not, be appropriate to advance their anti-government opinions. relationship from the former to the latter. · 4. a volume of Thomas a Kempis: This would have been Imitation of Christ (1426), a highly influential religious treatise commonly attrib­ 2. Duport: Louis Du port (1782-r8 5 3 ), a celebrated French ballet-master currently enjoying great popularity in Russia. uted to Thomas a Kempis (c. r380-147r). Mystical in.tone, it explores 3. the Arkharovs' ball: The Arkharovs were a real-life Moscow family, the inner life and the value of contemplation. very rich and famed for their lavish hospitality. 5. Sic transit gloria mundi: Thus the glory of the world passes away. 4. Sing hymns ... fight us: These execrable verses by N. P~ Nikolev were 6. Marat:Jean-Paul Marat (1743-93) was a Swiss-born French politician, declaimed at a real-life banquet in honour of Bagration. . active in republican and revolutionary circles. 5. Pavel Ivanovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov: Golenishchev-Kutuzov was 7. Hard luck ... George Dandin: A well-known quotation from Mol­ present at the real-life occasion, handing out copies of his verses, no iere's comedy George Dandin (1668). less execrable than those of Nikolev. · 8. a joke he had heard in Vienna: According to a current French idiom 6. How the devil . .. mess like that?: Geronte's repeated question in Les 'to do something for the King of Prussia' meant 'to get nothing but trouble for your pains'. · Fourberies de Scapin (r67r), 'Mais quediable allait-il faire clans cette galere?', had become proverbi_al in Russia. 9. Count Buxhowden: The Russian general left in charge of the allied 7. frustik: Friihstiick is German for breakfast. forces after the battle of Austerlitz. 8. when they had dropp_ed ... surface of the water: At baptism in the IO. complete liberatfon of his peasants from serf rule: Pierre is an early Russian Orthodox Church a little of the child's hair is cut off and -reformer in freeing his serfs; the serf system would survive officially in pressed into wax. If it floats rather than sinks in the font this is regarded Russia until 186r. as a good omen. II. this is Herder's doctrine: J. G. Herder (1744-1803) was a German 9. the talk was of war with Napoleon ... last year: During the autumn historian and philosopher who argued the merits of intuition and of r8o6 Napoleon, with two major victories behind him at Jena and irrationalism. Auerstadt, appeared to pose a direct threat to the borders of Russia. 12. Platov's division: General M. I. Platoy (1751-r818) was a distin­ . More than· half a million men were conscripted into the army. guished Cossack commander who had served alongside Suvorov and Kutuzov. IO. pzquet: A two-handed card game played with a reduced pack of thirty• two cards. 13. the battle of Friedland: This was fought in East Prussia o_n 14 June 1807. The French, with their superior artillery, defeated the Russians. Ir. .corner there: Dolokhov and Rostov'are adversaries in the game of faro (the game played by Herman in Pushkin's and Tchaikovsky's Queen PART III of Spades). Bending down the corner of a card indicated a doubling of the stake. · • r. Speransky: Count M. M. Speransky ( 1772-18 3 9) was a close adviser to Alexander I on home affairs. He was a would-be reformer, but his ideas PART II offended the conservative aristocracy, and he was dismissed in 1812; 2. Montesquieu: Baron de la Brede et de Charles Louis de Secondat r. Mada~e-de Souza: Adelaide Filleul de Souza (r76r-r836), a writer of sentimental romances set in eighteenth-century aristocratic French (1689-1755) was a French lawyer, philosopher and man of letters society. whose most famous work, L'Esprit des Lois (1748), analyses the relationship between human and natural law. 2. freemasonry: Freemasonry on the Anglo-Scottish model was intro­ 3. Illuminism: A secret, pseudos~ientific movement of the late eighteenth duced into Russia in 176r. Although seen as subversive and frequently I366 NOTES 7 NOTES century f?unded in Germany. Among its wide-ranging beliefs was a 2. Metternich, Rumyantsev or Talleyrand: Prince Clemens von Metter­ cl~ar_stram of republicanism, which led to its.suppression. nich (1773-1859) was the Austrian Foreign Minister; Count N. P. 4- Fmmsh campaign: Russia occupied Finland in February-May r8o8. Rumyantsev (1754-1826) was a Russian diplomat; Charles Maurice At home the war was unpopular. • de Talleyrand Perigord (1754-1838) was a French statesman and 5. · 'ein Mann zu sein': 'Being a man'. Foreign Minister (1797-1807), who opposed Napoleon's Russian 6. a brothe~ killed in Turkey: Russia had been at· war with Turkey on campaign. and off smce 1806 and hostilities would continue until r812. 3. Each of the three armies: The western army under Barclay de Tolly PART IV (1761-1818), the southern one under Bagration (1765-1812) and a reserve force being built up near the Austrian frontier. I. pas de chiile: A French shawl dance, -given here as an example of 4. Shishkov: The conservative Admiral Shishkov had replaced Speransky Natasha's training in western formal dance routines. as Foreign Secretary. 2. fetch me a cockerel ... oats: This would be for fortune-telling based 5 .. The King of Naples: General Joachim Murat had been appointed King on the way the fowl pecked up the oats. of Naples QY Napoleon in 1808. · 3· The Water-Carrier: This is a reference to Cherubini's opera Les Deux · 6. Bal-macheve: This mispronunciation of Balashev's not-too-difficult ]ournees (1804). name has an amusing ring, suggesting 'a ball (bullet) that finishes me off' ('balle m'acheve'). 4- ·my fav_ourite noct~rne, t~e one by Mr Field: Born in Dublin in 1782, J ~hn Field _settled m Russia and died in Moscow r 8 3 7. A composer of 7. Bernadotte: Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (1763-1844) founded the ?1ano m_us1c, he devised the style and name of the nocturne, handing Swedish royal fan:iily in 1818 as Karl XIV. In 1812 he was crown 1t on to its greatest exponent, Chopin. . prince. 8. the road to Poltava chosen by Charles XII: A century before, in 1709, PART V Charles XII of Sweden had invaded Russia only to be roundly defeated by Peter the Great. I. . the Astraea lodge . . . the 'Manna Seekers': Masonic lodges in 9. Themiopylae: A narrow pass in eastern Greece, the scene of a famous Petersburg. defence ·by Leonidas during the Persian invasion of 480 BC. 2. Napoleon,'s seizure ... sent to every European court: The seizure of ro. champignon . . . German toadstool: Champignon is French for the Duchy of Oldenburg in north-west Germany in r8ro was a breach mushroom. of ~he ~ilsit agreement. Tsar Alexander circulated a strong protest rr. Tsar-Cannon: A huge cannon (Tsar'-Pushka), which still stands in the agamst 1t. Kremlin. ·3. Peter the_~reat's old cudgel: P~ter the:Great, Tsar r682-r7:z:5, over­ ~aw Russia s emergence as a ma1or European power. Despite introduc­ PART II mg many reforms, Peter was an authoritarian ruler who imposed swift often cruel, punishments on all wrongdoers. ' r. Lyubomirsky, Bronnitsky, Wlocki: Polish adjutants-general serving in 4· Mademoiselle George: A French actress; whose real name was the Russian army during 1812. Marguerite-Josephine Weimer (1787-1867), celebrated for her beauty 2. Dessalles looked in amazement ... already at the Dnieper: Vitebsk and accomplished performances on stage. and the river Dnieper are 300 miles east of the Niemen. 5 • they all sat down: It is still a Russian tradition to sit down for a few 3. Vasily Pushkin: (1779-1837), a poetaster of average merit, is not to be moments of reflection before starting out on a journey. confused with his nephew, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), Russia's greatest poet. 4. Charon's ferry: In classical Greek myth Charon ferried the dead over VOLUME III the river Styx into Elysium, the abode of the blessed. 5. a huge balloon that was being built by Leppich: Franz Leppich was PART I the constructor of an expensive balloon intended for use against the French, which failed while being tested. r. - Continental System: An embargo on trade with England announced 6. here that the whole battle ... took place: Tolstoy drew up his own by Napoleon in 1806 and imposed on all of Europe. · . sketch map after consulti,ng Russian and French historians, and also NOTES 1369 I368 NOTES His Private.Diary was fresh in Tolstoy's mind, having been published visiting the' actual territory at B6rodino, and included it here in his in 1861. · text. Vive Henri Qitatre . .. aquatre: 'Long live Henry IV, that valiant king, 7• M~rin •. • Gerakov: S. N. Marin and G. V. Gerakov were two minor 2. that devil with four .. .' _ writers. Here, the former adds to the many parodies of the latter's Qui eut . . . vert gallant: -'Who had a threefold talent, for drinking, work. 3· fighting and being a ladies' man'. PART III

I. Columbi'ts's egg: A trick that is easy once you know· how to do it. . EPILOGUE Legen~ has it that Columbus, riled by the charge that anyone could have discovered America, once asked the company how to make an PART I egg sta~d on end. When nobody could do it he tapped one end of an Seven years had passed: the story ended in 1813; it is now 1820. egg aga1~st the table and stood it up, showing how easy things can be I. fhotius, Schelling, Fichte, Chateaubriand: Photius (1792-1838), the once a p10neer has led the way. 2. conservative-minded head of the Novgorod monastery, castigator of 2. boyars: The boyars had been the Tsar's right-hand men in medieval freemasonry and all forms of liberalism. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Russia. T?e title had been abolished almost a century bt;fore, and Schelling (1775-1854), a German philosopher who saw nature as a ~apoleon s repeated use of the term is an ironic indicator of his single organism working towards self-consciousness and -art as a vital ignorance. · part of this process. Johann Gottlieb Fichte (.1762-1814), a German 3- ~ttempt on Napoleon's life in Vienna in L809: Friedrich Staps failed Idealist philosopher and political thi~ker whose early enthusiasm for m an attempt to stab Napoleon outside the Schonbriin~ Palace in the French Revolution developed into strong condemnation of Napo­ October I809, and was summarily executed. leon. Frarn;:ois Rene Vicomte·de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), a French 4. the busine~s of the 7th of September: That is, the battle _of Borodino. writer and statesman who spent much of his life abroad, supported Ramballe 1s using the New Style date. the restoration of the French monarchy and refused to serve under 5. Ta/ma'. la Duchenois, Potier, the Sorbonne: Talma was a celebrated Napoleon. traged~enne, la Duchenois a popular actress and Potier a well-known 3. gave Poland a constitution: Following the Congress of Vienna (1815) co;111ed1an. The Sorbonne, the University of Paris, founded in the mid­ Poland was re-established as a country with its own constitution. thirteenth century, had been closed down in 1792 • 4. the Holy Alliance: An alliance founded in 1815 between Austria, Prussia and Russia as a means of guaranteeing peace; it soon became VOLUME IV an instrument of political repression. 5. Golitsyn: Prince A. N. Golitsyn (1773-1844), Minister of Education PART I . and Spiritual Affairs under Alexander I, head of the Bible Society, was charged with implementing the increasingly reactionary principles of I. the P?ssible implications of the words, 'Natasha is nursing him': Under the I;Ioly Alliance. Russia~ Church law a man could not marry his sister-in-law; Nikolay 6. Shishkov: Admiral A. S. Shishkov (1754-1841), President of the Rus­ and Prmcess Marya would therefore be unable to get married if Prince sian Academy (1813-41), a keen Slavophile opposed to any reform of Andrey were to survive and marry Natasha. · · the Russian language. 2. Frau/a and Laura_: Th~ martyred brothers Florus and Laurus (third 7. Semyonovsky regiment: This famous regiment, founded by Peter the _ century A?), beatified m the Russian Orthodox Church, became the Great in 1687, was disbanded by Alexander I in 1820 following a patron samts of horses for th_e peasants, who mispronounced their mutinous protest against a German commander, with cruel _punish­ names. · ments meted out to its members. 8. fifty years ago: War and Peace was completed in 1869. PART IV 9. posted to Turkey: In 1795 Napoleon applied unsuccessfully for a posting in Turkey for the purpose of reorganizing the Sultan's artillery. I. Si~ ~o,bert__ Wilson's JJ_ia:J: Si~ Robert Wilson (1774-1849) was IO. · During the wars in Italy ..._ while he is still there: By the time General Bntam s military comm1ss1oner m Russia during the period 1812- 14. NOTES NOTES I37I Suvorov entered northern Italy and defeated the French in I799 Napo­ 3. Lanfrey: Pierre Lanfrey (I828-77) began publishing a historical study leon had left for Egypt. highly critical of Napoleon as Tolstoy completed War and Peace. II. Not unto us ... but unto Thy Name: At the instigation of Alexander 4. Gervinus and Schlosser: G. G. Gervinus and F. C. Schlosser were I these, the opening words of Psalm I I 5, were inscribed on a victory · contemporary German historians. _ · medal of I8r2. seized at Boulogne: Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon, was I2. 5· Laocoon: In Greek mythology, a Trojan prince who offended the gods arrested at Boulogne in I840 after his· second attempt to seize the and was strangled by a sea-serpent. throne. I3. the Bible Society: The Russian Bible Society had been formed in I8I3 6. Rousseau, Diderot, Beaumarchais: Jean Jacques Rousseau (17r2-78), by A. N. Golitsyn, a lifelong friend of Alexander I, who was influenced French philosopher and writer, author of the Social Contract (see by the society's reactionary views concerning the superiority of the volume I, Part I, note ro); Denis Diderot (I7I3-84), French Enlight~n­ Gospel over scientific methods of study and education. The society. ment philosopher and one of the authors of the Encyclopedie, a ma1or would be suppressed in I826 by Tsar-Nicholas L work of eighteenth-century rationalist thought; Pierre Augustin Caron I4· Gassner a_nd Madame Tatawinova: The Munich-born pastor and mys­ de Beaumarchais (I732-99 ), French playwright, author of The Barber tic Johann Gassner was expelled from Bavaria in I 8 I7 and invited to ofSeville and The Marriage of Figaro, which, satirized the ruling classes Petersburg by the Rus~ian Bible Society; of which he _became a popular of pre-revolutionary France. , director. Also in I8I7, E. F. Tatarinova founded a 'spiritual union' in 7· Kurbsky: Prince Andrey Kurbsky (I528-83), one of Ivan the Great_s Petersburg which enabled its followers to achieve ecstasy and make principal boyars, left the country in order to criticize Ivan for his prophecies through dervish-like dancing. cruelty· Ivan responded by arguing the need for a strong autocracy. I5. Madame Kwudner: Baroness BarbaraJulianaXhidener (1764-I825), 8. any n~mber of Godfreys and Louis: Godfrey of Bouil~on (ro6I?­ a popular sentimental novelist from Riga, living in Petersburg in I82I, Iroo), French nobleman, soldier and leader of the First C_r~sade whose mystical writings held a strong appeal for Alexander I. (ro9 5-9); Louis VII (II2I-8o), King of France rr37-80, a part1c1pant I6. Magnitsky: M. L. Magnitsky (I778-I 8 5 5 ), Minister of Education and in the Second Crusade (rr45-8). - Spiritual Affairs in I8I9, was despised by the liberals for his reaction- 9. Peter the Hermit: (c. ro50-rrI5)_, a French preacher who led a band ary attitudes and oppressive measures. · · of Crusaders during the First Crusade, which was defeated by the I7. Pugachov: Yemelyan Pugachov (I726-.:._75), the Cossack leader of a Ottoman Turks in ro96. He later fought with Godfrey of Bouillon in revolutionary movement, ultimately ill fated, in the Volga region dur­ the conquest of Jerusalem in ro99. ing the years I773-5. Minnesingers: German lyric poets and singers in the twelfth to four­ I8. IO. Tugendbund: A German patriotic league (founded in I8o8) devoted teenth centuries. Godfrey was the hero of many medieval songs and to the overthrow of Napoleon. epic poems. . .. Wussian· bunt: A pun on the German word bund (union) and the II. off go the French to Mexico: The French suppo~te~ F. J. Max1m1han Russian word bunt (riot). (I832-67) in his bid to become Emperor of Mexico ~n I861, _but when 20. Mucius Scaevola: The Roman Gaius Mucius -Scaevola famously the French army withdrew at the end of the American CIVll War he showed resistance to torture by thrusting his right harid into a fire and was betrayed and executed. _ holding it there until it was consumed. 'Scaevola' means 'left-handed'. I2. The King of Prussia ... Bohemia: The reference is to ~he Austro­ Prussian war of I866, which ended in defeat for the Austrians. PART II I3. the miracle of Joshua: Joshua was the successor to Moses who gave I. Gibbon to Buckle: Edward Gibbon (I737-94), an English historian, his name to the sixth book of the Old Testament. His most famous best known for his six-volume Decline and Fall pf the Roman Empire exploit was commanding the sun and moon to stand still. (Joshua ro: (I776-88). Thomas Henry Buckle (I82r-62), a self-educated English I2-I3). intellectual, chess-player and cultural historian, best known for his two-volume History of Civilization ( I 8 57-6I ). 2. Thiers: Adolphe Thiers (I797-I877), statesman and historian, twice Prime Minister of France. . THE CHARACTERS r373 Other Prominent Characters Akhrosimov, Marya Dmitriyevna, a formidable personality, friend of the Rostov family The Characters Alpatych, old Prince Bolkonsky's steward Bazdeyev, 6sip, a leading freemason, a strong influence on Pierre Berg, Alphonse, a Russian officer Bilibin, a Russian diplomat Bourienne, Mademoiselle, Princess Marya's French Companion Denisov, Vasf!y or Vaska, a Russian officer, a close friend ofNikolay Rostov . Dolokhov, Fedya, a Russian officer and high-living man-about-town Dron, a village elder at Bogucharovo The Bezukhovs1 . Ila.gin, one of the Rostovs' neighbours at Otradnoye Count Kirill Bezukhov logel, a dancing master Pierre Bezukhov, his natural son, also kn~wn as Pyotr Kirillovich (or Kara.gin, Julie, an heiress Kidllych), which means Peter, son of Kirill Karatayev, Platon, a simple peasant whose natural goodness makes a great Pierre's cousins, the Mamontov sisters, Katerina (or Katishe), Olga and impact on Pierre Sofya Karp, an insubordinate serf at Bogucharovo Mavra, a maid with the Rostovs The Bolk6nskys Pelageya, a pilgrim Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky Scherer, Anna (Anna Pavlovna), a leading Petersburg society hostess Prince Andrey Bolkonsky, his son Tushin; Captain, a battery captain at the battle of Schongrabern Princess Marya, his daughter Princess Liza, or Lise, Andrey's wife Historical Figures in War and Peace Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky, son of Andrey and Lise Alexander I, Tsar of Russia, often referred to as the Emperor Arakcheyev, Count A., minister under Alexander, a reactionary and ruthless The Rost6vs figure Count Ilya Rostov Armfeldt, Count G. M., a Swedish soldier and statesman Countess Natalya, his wife Bagration, Prince P., a Russian general Count Nikolay Rostov, their elder son Barclay de Tolly, M., a senior Russian general Count Pyotr Rostov, or Petya, their younger son Balashev, General A., one of Alexander's most trusted aides Countess Vera, their elder daughter Bennigsen, Count I., a Hanoverian general in the Russian army Countess Natalya, or Natasha, their younger daughter Berthier, P.-A., Marshal of France, Chief of Staff to Napoleon Sofya, or Sonya, a cousin brought up in the family Bessieres, Jean-Baptiste, a distinguished soldier, Marshal of France Caulaincourt, General A. de, French Ambassador to Russia The Kurdgins Chichagov, Admiral P., commander of the Army of Moldavia Prince Vasf!y Kuragin Clausewitz, Karl Marie von, a Prussian soldier serving as a Russian staff- Prince Anatole, his elder son officer, later to become famous for.his treatise On War (1833) Prince Hippolyte, his younger son Davout, L., Prince of Eckmiihl, Marshal of France Princess.Yelena, known thi:oughout as Helene, his daughter Dokhturov, D., a Russian general The Drubetsk6ys Kutuzov, Field-Marshal M., Russian commander-in-chief at Borodino Princess Anna, known throughout as Anna Mikhaylovna Miloradovich, M., a Russian general Boris, her son Murat,Joachim, King of Naples, commander of Napoleon's cavalry in 18r2 Napoleon I, Emperor of the French Pfuel, Ernst von, Colonel, then General, a Prussian soldier in Russian service I374 THE CHARACTERS

Rostopchin, Count F., governor-general of Moscow Speransky, M., the minister who inspired Alexander's first reforms Stein, Baron H. K. von, a Prussian statesman noted for his liberal views Toll, Karl von, Quartermaster-general of the.Russian army .Wintzengerode, Count F,., General, a Wiirtemberger in Russian service Wittgenstein, General Ludwig, a Westphalian in Russian service Wolzogen, General Ludwig von, a Prussian soldier in Russian service

NOTE

I. Word stress is important in Russian and the correct stresses are marked in the names listed here. Two names that are pronounced differently from what you may expect are Vasily (Vass-ee-ly) and Boris (Ba-rees), both _stressed on the second syllable.

~ ~---_I - ,, ,1

2. Austerlitz ,

- ___ ~a,ookon!s MY3J1.Ce. (JJ,ittic 5 e~ Peur.sbury apolum,'s m:reu- 0 100 or==::t:~~r=~-Zt,ZDomi!M 100 200 300/

~ Yaros~[ R., u s s }\,

Ord,

J Kursk• .Voronezh, ( \

3· The r8r2 Campa1gn . O )12, 1mik, b~==~r,=!c=;===z1½km

Summary of Chapters

r-, ,' I I I I I VOLUME I I I ,::r;'I I / (J / Part I (July-August I805) \ '<' '"-'' ,,,_,I<>:! I I. Anna Scherer's soiree in Moscow. Prince Vasily negotiates. ,' I 2. Pierre Bezukhov arrives. I I.J./ I ,i: Andrey Bolkonsky arrives to rejoin his pregnant wife, Lise. I I 3. I I Pierre's faux pas in conversation. · ,o,4_ I 4. I I 5· Pierre's indecision over choosing a career. 6. Pierre visits Andrey and goes on to AnatoleKuragin's. Dolokhov's bet. P: 7. A double name-day celebration at the Rostovs'. o/ 8. Natasha. 9. Nikolay has joined the army. IO. Nikolay's relationship with Sonya.

II. Natasha and Boris. Boris's mother, Anna Mikhaylovna. 12. She takes her son to visit the dying Count Kirill Bezukhov. 13. Boris visits Pierre. 14. Countess Rostov gives Anna Mikhaylovna money for her son's uniform. 15. Dinner at the Rostovs'. r6. Talk of war. Natasha misbehaves. 17. Sonya's distress. Natasha dances with Pierre. The 'Daniel Cooper' dance. 'Doronino41' r8. Prince Vasily Kuragin's machinations over the dying count's inheritance. 19 .. Anna Mikhaylovna takes Pierre to see his dying father.

4- Borodino APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS IJ80 APPENDIX I: SUMMA!l,Y BY CHAPTERS

20. Panic. Dolokhov's moment of glory. Relief for the battling 20. The count. d_oes not recognize anyone. Pierre's discomfort. Tushin. 21. Death of the count. 21. Retreat. Nikolay cadges a lift. Andrey defends Tushin. 22. Bald Hills. Old Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky and his daughter, Princess Marya. . · · Part III (November 1805) 23. Prince Andrey arrive~ ~ith Lise. 24. The old prince discusses Napoleon's merits with hi~ son. 1. Prince Vasily and Pierre. Pierre is manoeuvered close to Helene.

2 5 • Andrey leaves for the army. Lise is unhappy and frightened about 2. Pierre i_s trapped into a fashionable but loveless marriage. giving birth. 3. Prince Vasily takes Anatole to Bald Hills - a match for Princess Marya? Part II (October-November 1805) 4. Anatole impresses the ladies, but not the old prince. 5. The old prince's opposition. Marya catches Anatole kissing Mlle I. The Russian army prepares for an i~spection at Braunau. Bourienne. 2. The inspecti~n takes place. Zherkov and Dolokhov. 6. A letter from Nikolay. Sonya and Natasha. 3 • Kutuzov and an Austrian general. The 'unfort~nate General Mack'. 7. Nikolay visits Boris and Berg, and meets Prince Andrey. 4. The Pavolgrad hussars. Nikolay Rostov, Telyanin a~d the stolen 8. Nikolay is inspired by a close view of the Emperor inspecting the purse. troops. 5· Nikolay is encouraged to apologize to his commanding officer. 9. Boris visits Andrey at Olmiltz. Prince Dolgorukov. 6. Crossing the Enns. , IO. Nikolay. remains ecstatically inspired by the Emperor. 7. Incidents on the crowded bridge. I I. Dolgorukov tells of his meeting with Napoleon. Kutuzov is pessi­ mistic. 8. The burning of the bridge. Nikolay's undistinguished baptism of fire. I2. Kutuzov sleeps through a council of war. Andrey thinks things over. 9. Andrey. is sent with dispatches to the Austrian court. The war minister. · 13. Nikolay at the front. Visit of Bagration and Dolgorukov.

IO. Andrey stays with Bilibin; 14. The battle of Austerlitz begins. The Russians' tactical ineptitude. II. Bilibin's guests, 'our people', incl.uding·Hippolyte Kuragin. I 5. Kutuz~v at loggerheads with the Emperor. I6. Andrey halts the Russian retreat, but is then badly wounded. I2. Andrey meets the Emperor Francis. Bilibin's story of the Tabor bridge. I?· Nikolay meets the wounded Boris. He cannot believe how bad I3. Andrey ret~rns to Kutuzov.· things are. I4. Bagration is sent to Hollabrilnn. Napoleon writes to Murat. 18. Nikolay misses a chance to assist the Emperor. Disaster on a frozen dam. I5. Andrey reports to Bagration. Captain Tushin. Soldiers at the front. · 19. Andrey, despite medic;i treatment, seems likely to die, and is left I6. Andrey surveys the position. The first shot. behind. I7. _The battle of Schi:ingrabern. Captain Tushin sets fire to the village. I8. Battle scenes. Bagration in the thick of things. I9. Two Russian commanders at loggerheads. Nikolay is injured. APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS '1 APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS

8. Old Prince Bolkonsky gives Andrey h"is own estate at Bogu- VOLUME II charovo. 9. Bilibin writes caustically about the campaign. The sick baby Part I (1805-6) recovers.

I. Nikolay brings Denisov home on leave. IO. Pierre visits his southern estates bent on reform, but he is easily 2. Count Ilya Rostov prepares a grand dinner in honour of Bagration. duped.

3. _The dinner at the English Club, Count Rostov's finest hour. .II. Pierre visits AU:drey at Bogucharovo. They argue about methods 4. Insulted by Dolokhov, Pierre challenges him to a duel. of reform. 5. Pierre wounds Dolokhov and emerges unscathed. 12. A philosophical discussion on the ferry. 6. Pierre and Helene have a furious argument. He sends her away. 13. The 'Servants of God' at Bald Hills. 7. At Bald Hills Andrey is presumed dead, but the news is kept from 14. The old prince takes to Pierre. Lise. 15. Nikolay rejoins his regiment. Food shortages. 8. Lise is about to give birth. Andrey returns. 16. Denisov illegally seizes supplies . from his own army' and 1s 9. A baby son is born, but Lise dies in childbirth. wounded. . Nikolay visits D~nisov, waiting in a vile hospital for his court IO. Denisov and Dolokhov at the Rostovs'. Love is in the air. 17. martial. I I. Dolokhov proposes to Sonya and is turned down. I8. Denisov reluctantly agrees to petition the Emperor for a pardon. 12. Iogel's ball. Denisov's impressive mazurka. 19. Nikolay's inopportune visit to Boris at Tilsit. 13. Dolokhov goads Nikolay into gambling, and losing. 20. Nikolay ~anages to get the petition to the Emperor, but it is 14. Nikolay ends up owing 43,000 roubles. " rejected. 15. Nikolay returns home. Natasha enchants the company with her 21. Alexander and Napoleon meet. Nikolay is depressed and gets singing. drunk. 16. Nikolay tells his father about his losses. Denisov proposes to Natasha. Part III (1808-ro)

Part II (1807) 1. Andrey empathizes with a moribund oak-tree that refuses towel­ come spring. I. Pierre meets Osip Bazdeyev, a celebrated freemason. • · 2 Visiting Ot~adnoye, Andrey overhears Natasha in a late-night 2. Bazdeyev talks about supreme wisdom and Pierre's unhappy life. conversation. 3. Pierre becomes a freemason. . Andrey revisits the old oak-tree, which is now bursting with new 3 4. At the conclusion of the ceremony Pierre feels like a new man. life. . · Arakcheyev rejects Andrey's memorandum on reform of the mili- _5. Prince Vasily, seeking a reconciliation between Pierre and Helene 4 is violently rejected. · ' tary code. . Andrey is more impressed by Speransky, admiring his self- 6. At another of Anna Scherer's soirees Helene invites Boris to visit 5 her. assurance. 7. Boris goes to her soiree and Helene urgently invites him to dinner 6. Andrey agrees to work on a committee for the reform of the Legal ne~t day. Code. APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS

7. Pierre, dissatisfied with freemasonry, seeks reassurance from Part IV (1810-n) Bazdeyev. r. Nikolay returns home, and has doubts _about Natasha's marriage. 8. Pierre, wanting to do good, agrees to a reconciliation with Helene. 2. Nikolay gives Mitenka some rough treatment. 9. Helene, a successful society hostess, now receives Boris ~egularly. Io. Pierre's diaries and dreams show how disturbed he is. 3. Niko lay decides to go hunting. 4. The wolf-hunt begins. IL Berg demands a dowry for marrying Count Rostov's eldest daughter, Vera. 5. A wolf is caught.

I2. Natasha and Boris are mutually attracted. Sonya seems to love 6. Hagin's courtesy. Triumph of 'Uncle's' dog, Rugay. him too. - 7. An evening at 'Uncle's'. Balalaika playing. Natasha's Russian I 3. Following a late-night talk with Natasha, the countess sends Boris dancing. away. 8. Countess Rostov wants Nikolay to marry Julie Karagin. She nags q. Natasha is involved in fastidious preparations for her first grand Sonya. ball. 9. Chistmas at Otradnoye. Natasha is bored and depressed.

I 5. Natasha makes a good impression. Pierre is seen talking to IO. The Rostov children reminisce. Mummers. A troika ride to the Andrey. Melyukovs'.

I6. Pierre asks Andrey to dance with Natasha. They captivate the II. At Melyukovka. Sonya tries her fortune outside, at the barn. , company. 12. Nikolay and Sonya in love. Natasha and Sonya try their fate with I7. Andrey decides he must marry Natasha. Pierre feels humiliated mirrors. by his wife. 13 . Nikolay,'.s marriage to Sonya is opposed. Nikolay rejoins the I8. Andrey visits Speransky and i~ disillusioned by his vacuous regiment. character. I9. Andrey visits the Rostovs and is once more enchanted by Natasha. Part V (18n-I2) 20. Berg and Vera, assiduous social0 climbers, invite Pierre to dinner. r. Moscow. Pierre ruminates-over what to_ do with himself. 21. The evening is exactly like all the others - just what the Bergs • Marya teaches little Nikolay. Prince Bolkonsky and Mlle aspire to. 2 Bourienne. 22. Natasha's head is turned. Pierre tells Andrey to go ahead with . Prince Bolkonsky treats Dr Metivier as a spy. Congenial conver­ the match. · 3 sation. 23. The old prince insists on a year's delay for the wedding. Natasha 4. Pierre and Marya discuss Boris Drubetskoy and Natasha. is shocked. . Boris empathizes with Julie in her 'melancholy'. His proposal is 24. The engagement is kept secret. Andrey leaves for western Europe. 5 accepted. 25. The old prince's attitude to Marya becomes increasingly cruel. 6. Count Ilya, Sonya and Natasha stay with Marya Dmitriyevna in 26. He threatens to marry Mlle Bourienne. Marya would like to run Moscow. away. 7. The Rostovs call on the Bolkonskys. Disastrous relationships. 8. The Rostovs at the opera. Helene is in the next box. 9. The opera. Anatole and Pierre. Natasha meets Helene. Dancing of Duport. x386 APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAP,TERS

IO. Natasha meets the seductive Anatole and falls under his spell. ro. Andrey meets Pfuel, a conceited theorist and military 'expert'. II. Anatole and Dolokhov in Moscow; r r. An informal council-of-war. Pfuel's ludicrous dogmatism. I2. Helene tells Nat;sha Anatole is in love with her. 12. Nikolay writes to Sonya. He and Ilyin get caught in a storm. IJ. Mme Georges' recitation at Helene's. Natasha is bemused by 13 .- Marya Genrikhovna. The officers and the doctor. Anatole's persistent wooing. 14. Nikolay controls his fear as he goes into action at Ostrovna. I4. Marya's letter to Natasha. Anatole writes a letter to Natasha. 15. Nikolay, with his huntsman's eye, excels in battle. I5. Natasha renounces Andrey. A note from Anatole. Sonya 1s 16. Natasha's illness. The absurd and expensive ministrations of suspicious. - doctors. I6. Anatole rejects Dolokhov's dissuasion as he prepares to abduct 17. Natasha and Pierre. She takes Communion. A slight improve­ Natasha. ment. I7. The abduction begins but is frustrated by a footman. . 18. At Mass Natasha hears the special prayer for victory. I-8. · Marya Dmitriyevna is furious with Natasha. Count Ilya is not 19. Pierre, haunted· by the number 666, sees that he must destroy told. Napoleon. I9. Pierre sees Natasha and confirms that Anatole is already married. 20. Petya is keen on the army. Pierre decides to stop visiting Natasha. 20. Pierre sees Anatole, and vents his fury on him. Anatole. leaves 2r. Petya is crushed at the Kremlin, but overwhelmed by seeing the town. Emperor. 2I. Natasha takes poison. Andrey is now back. Pierre goes to see 22. Assembly of nobility, including Pie~re, and merchants at Sloboda him. palace., 22. Pierre assures Natasha of his devotion. The great comet of 1812. 23. The Empi::ror speaks. Pierre offers to fund a thousand men.

VOLUME III Part II (August 1812) r. The events of 1812, despite the 'planning', were unforeseen and Part I (May-July 1812) fortuitous. I. For all their illusion of self-will 'great leaders' are directed by 2. Prince Bolkonsky's mind is going. Julie writes to Marya. history. 3. Alpatych is sent to Smolensk. 2. Napoleon crosses the Niemen. Polish uhlans are drowned in the 4. Smolensk is under fire. Alpatych meets Andr~y, who tells them to Viliya. leave. 3, Alexander at Vilna. Boris eavesdrops. Alexander writes to 5. Prince Andrey visits Bald Hills. The bathing soldiers - cannon- Napoleon. fodder. ' 4. Balashev is sent to Napoleon, and meets Murat, 'King of Naples'. 6. Matter v. form. Anna Pavlovna's and Helene's competing salons. 5. Balashev, treated badly by Davout, is finally brought to Napoleon. 7. Napoleon orders the advance on Moscow. An encounter with 6. Balashev's meeting with Napoleon. Lavrushka. 7. Balashev dines with Napoleon. 8. Prince Bolkonsky has a stroke, and then dies, nursed by Princess 8. Kutuzov sends Andrey to Barclay's army. He calls in at Bald Hills. Marya. 9. Andrey at Dri:ssa. His ideas on the three armies and eight parties. 9. The truculent peasantry. Alpatych speaks to Dron. _ -·--·-...... _ .u .1. \:.,J"tJlPTERS APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS

10. Princess Marya speaks to Dron. 37. Andrey undergoes an operation on his thigh. Anatole's leg is rr. She addresses the suspicious peasants, who refuse to leave Bogu- amputated. charovo. 3 8. Napoleon's dark mood, though he .believes few Frenchmen fell in 12. Princess Marya recalls her father's death. Russia. 13. Nikolay and Ilyin arrive at Bogucharovo, willing to help Marya. 39. Moral victory for the Russians, but everyone doubts the value of 14. Nikolay brings the peasants into line. Marya falls in love with it all. him. 15. Andrey meets Denisov, who wants to develop guerrilla resistance·. Part III (September 1812) 16. Andrey trusts Kutuzov and his motto: 'Patience and Time'. r. Continuity of motion. Achilles and the tortoise. Image of the 17. Moscow. Rostopchin's broadsheets. Pierre hears of Marya's locomotive. arrival. 2. The campaign before Borodino. Kutuzov's subsequent move­ 18. A public flogging. Pierre leaves for the front. ments. 19. Borodino - a senseless struggle wrongly interpreted by historians. 3. Kutuzov and his generals. To defend or not to defend Moscow? 20. Pierre arrives in the theatre of war and seeks out the army's 4. The war council at Fili. With a heavy heart Kutuzov opts for position. retreat. 21. The Icon of Smolensk is deeply revered by the soldiers and 5. The abandonment of Moscow. Rostopchin's inconsistent be­ Kutuzov. haviour. 22. Kutuzov notices Pierre. Dolokhov wants Pierre to be reconciled. 6. In Pet~rsburg Helene converts to .Catholicism and plans re­ 2 3. Bennigsen explains the army position; it is all beyond Pierre. marriage. 24. Andrey reflects on life and death. Pierre visits him. 7. Helene writes to Pierre asking for his co-operation over the 25. The spirit of the army. What is war? Andrey thinks of Natasha. divorce. 26. De Beausset brings Napoleon his son's portrait. Napoleon's pro- 8. Pierre walks back to Mozhaysk, where he meets his own groom. clamation. ~ 9. Pien;e's.vivid dreams. He travels on to Moscow. 27. Napoleon's dispositions, and how they failed to materialize. 10. Pierre goes to see Rostopchin. The 'traitor' Vereshchagin. 28. Napoleon's cold. The reasons behind the battle. 11. Rostopchin warns Pierre that he must leave. He goes away in 29. Napoleon talks to De Beausset and Rapp. The game begins. secrecy. 30. Pierre watches the battlefield from a mound at Gorki. 12. The Rostovs prepare to le~ve. Petya is in the army, but still with them. 3 r. Pierre sees violent action in and around the Rayevsky redoubt. 13. Natasha invites wounded men to occupy their house. 32. The redoubt is taken and retaken. Pierre tackles a French officer. 14. Natasha rearranges the packing. Unknown to her, Andrey is 3 3. The battle proceeds in its own way despite the many orders issued. brought in. · 34. Expected successes are not achieved. Massive, useless slaughter. 15. Natasha defeats her mother; they take wounded men instead of 35. Kutuzov. An order to renew the attack tomorrow. The spirit of luggage. the army. 16. Berg wants to borrow a cart. More and more wounded men fill 36. Andrey is hit by a bursting shell. The dressing-station. their carts. APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS 1391

I7. They trundle off in heavy traffic, with Andrey. An encounter with 5. He flirts. The governor's wife advises him against marrying Sonya. Pierre. 6 .. He visits Princess Marya, loves her but cannot imagine her as his I8. Pierre lives at Bazdeyev's. Gerasim gets liim peasant clothing and wife. a gun. 7. A letter from Sonya sets Nikolay free. He still thinks fondly of I9. Napoleon surveys Moscow, awaiting a deputation of boyars. Marya. 20. Moscow is empty, like a dead beehive. Napoleon's grand coup 8. She had written under pressure from the countess. de theatre has failed. 9. Pierre under interrogation. Fourteen men await their verdict. 2I. Incoming soldiers block the bridge. There is looting. IO. Pierre is sentenced to death as a spy. 22. A young relative arrives at the Rostovs'. Mavra gives him money. II. Five prisoners are brutally executed. Pierre and the others are 23. Abandoned workmen drink and brawl. spared.

24. Rostopchin, feeling sidelined, needs a victim. Vereshchagin is 12. Pierre meets Platon Karatayev in prison. available. 13. Pierre sees Karatayev as the embodiment of simplicity and truth. 25. The killing of Vereshchagin. Lunatics on the loose. Kutuzov at 14. Princess fyiarya joins the Rostovs in Yaroslavl. Andrey is in a bad the bridge. way. 26. The French enter Moscow. Much looting. The fire begins. 15. Little Prince Nikolay is taken to see his dying father. 27. Pierre stays· on to do his deed. The drunken Makar Bazdeyev has 16. Andrey ~xperiences joy and a lightness of being just before he a pistol. dies. 28.· Pierre saves the occupying Captain Ramballe's-life. They dine together. · Part II (October r8I2) 29. They talk confidingly of women and love. A small fire is visible. r. The flanking manoeuvre leading to Tarutino was natural and 30. The Rostovs' staff see the fire at Mytishchi. inevitable. 3I. The count is informed. Natasha gets through to see Andrey. 2 •. Correspondence between Napoleon and Kutuzov. Changes in 32. Andrey is in and out of consciousness. Natasha now stays at his strength. _ side. 3. Alexander, and others, urge attack. Kutuzov sees no need to risk 33. Pierre sets out. He saves a child from the fire. lives. · 34. He defends an Armenian woman, and is then arrested as an · 4. Battle disp<;>sitions are made, but Yermolov is slow to follow them arsonist. up. 5. Kutuzov prepares reluctantly ,for battle but finds it has been VOLUME IV postponed. 6. The Cossacks then attack, find Murat but fail to follow up their Part I (August 18I2) success. 7. A small vict~ry, with some (useless) losses. Naopleon is on his I. Anna Scherer's soiree. News that Helene is seriously ill. way out. 2. A victory at Borodino is reported. Death of Helene. 8. Napoleon, the 'genius', made all the wrong decisions in Moscow. 3. Michaud reports the loss of Moscow to the Tsar. 9. He took charge, issuing proclamations and orders. Nothing 4. Nikolay is sent to Voronezh. He stands out in provincial society. worked. APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS IJ92 APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS 1393

12. Pierre struggles on with the other prisoners. Karatayev is ill. Io. He failed in militarism, diplomacy, justice, religion and everything else. · 13. Pierre still derives great joy from Karatayev's solemn happiness. 14. Karatayev lags behind and is shot. His dog is left howling. II. Pierre spends four weeks in prison. Karatayev and the French soldier. 15. They are rescued by Dolokhov. Pierre sees Petya's dead body. 12. Pierre wants freedom, but he is full of joie de vivre and energy .. · 16. The French army, at half strength, is a ragged shambles. 13. Departure of the French. Pierre's group is marched away. 17. Russian and French manoeuvres are like a game of blind man's 14. Pierre laughs at the idea of them locking up his real self and buff. immortal soul. 18. Even in retreat the absurd Napoleon is described as a 'great man'. I 5. The Russians at Fominsk and Maloyaroslavets. Dokhturov the 19. Four good reasons why the Russians did not cut off the French. real hero. · 16. Konovnitsyn, who brought news of the retreat, is another unsung Part IV (November-December 1812) hero. 1. The Rostovs. Natasha's grief is interrupted by bad news. 17. Kutuzov, awakened at night, thanks God for the salvation of . Russia. 2. At first the countess cannot accept the news of Petya's death . 18. The French run away in panic, and Napoleon comes near to being 3. Marya stays on with Natasha, then they leave for Moscow. caught. 4. The Russian generals want more glory, hence the battle of. 19. The French army melts away. Kutuzov wants to ·let them go, Krasnoye. unharassed. 5. Kutuzov's natural good sense and total consistency. 6. Kutuz6v's speech of simplicity and sincerity moves the men. Part III (October-November 18I2) 7. A watt!~· wall is brought in to shield the fire. 8. Soldiers talk round the camp-fire under the night sky. I. Russia behaved like a duellist who dropped his rapier and seized a cudgel. 9. Two Frenchmen emerge from the woods, Ramballe and his orderly.

2. Russia did not play by the book. The success of guerrilla warfare. IO. Crossing of the Berezina. Kutuzov receives the Order of St George.

3. Denisov and Dolokhov plan to join forces and attack the fleeing II. Kutuzov, his job done, declines and dies.

French. · 12. Pierre gets used to freedom and reviews his life. 4. Young Petya Rostov turns up with a message. 13. Pierre is happy now, full of good will and liked by everyone. 5. From afar Denisov and Petya observe Tikhon Shcherbaty at work. 14. The people return to Moscow and the city begins to recover. 6. Sent to catch a Frenchman, Shcherbaty returns empty-handed. Pierre meets Natasha again, much changed. She is pleased i:o see 7. Petya feels sympathy for a captured French drummer-boy .. him. 8. · Dolokhov and Denisov plan their attack. Petya insists on going 16. Natasha unburdens herself, telling the whole story of Andrey's with them. death. 9. Dolokhov and Petya infiltrate the French camp to get information. 17. Pierre spends long hours in the company of Marya and Natasha. IO. Night. Petya is in a magic kingdom, dreaming. He is ready for 18. Pierre wants to marry Natasha. He leaves things to Marya. anything. 19. Pierre is in a frenzy of joy. He loves everybody he meets. I I. In his impetuosity Petya is soon killed. Pierre is among the men 2 o. Pierre has to go briefly to Petersburg, but the marriage is on. rescued. · n,·rr.,un.11. L: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS APPENDIX I: SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS IJ95 EPILOGUE 3. The force of history is power, but how is it used to direct ev~nts? 4. The transfer of popular will to heroic leaders is a fallacy. Part I (I8I3-20) 5. Will is only part of an event. Events often defy the will behind · r. The forces at work in history act beyond. human rea.son. them.

2. The_ popular concepts of .chance and genius · are entirely 6. No result stems from a given order. Orders come from the unin­ superfluous. volved. 3. An infinity of chance contingencies caused these events, not 7. Causation is complex. Retrospective explanations are too con­ Napoleon. venient. 4. Alexander renounces power. Why do bees exist? For ~o single 8. We ;re not free, but consciousness creates in us an illusion of free reason. will. 5. Death of Count Ilya Rostov. Nikolay resigns. His position 9. Actions are partly free, partly the products of necessity. worsens. 1 IO. Freedom and necessity are interdependent. Neither is absolute. 6. Marya comes to Moscow. The match with Nikolay. becomes II. Free will is an illusion. There are laws, and history must find possible. them.

7. They live at Bald Hills, raising a family. The debts are paid off. I2. Free will must go. Personality depends on space, time and 8. Nikolay eschews violence. Sonya, the 'sterile flower', lives with causality. rhem. 9. The happiness and imperfections,of family life.

IO. Natasha monopolizes Pierre, but gives him total freedom round · the house.

II. Pierre returns, in trouble for staying away too long in Petersburg. 12. The separate microcosms at Bald Hills. Little Nikolay idolizes Pierre. 13. Pierre is worried about growing repression in the capital. 14. Pierre attacks the government, Nikolay defends, and little Nikolay listens. ·

I 5. The mutual, though different; love that exists between Marya and Nikolay. 16. Natasha's jealous love. Little Nikolay's desire to be worthy of his father.

Part II

I. The different faults of ancient and modern historians.

2. Historians,' inconsistent and contradictory, stop short of real analysis. AFTERWORD 1397

level as a novelist's attempt to engage with the truth of history. Tolstoy's inte:est in history developed long before his career as a novelist. But history­ writing disappointed him. It seemed to reduce the richness of real li_fe. F_or Afterword whereas the 'real' history of lived experience was made up of an mfimte number of factors and contingencies, historians selected just a few (for example, the political. or the economic) to develop their theories and expla­ by Orlando Figes n~tions. Tolstoy concluded that the histories of his day represented 'perhaps only 0.001 per cent of the elements which actually cons_titute the :ea! ~istory of peoples' .1 He was particularly frustrate_d by the failure of h1sto_nans. to illuminate the 'inner' life of a society-the private thoughts and relat10nsh1ps that make up the most real and immediate experience of human beings. In ·1951, after reading War and Peace for the twelfth time, the Russian writer Hence he turned to literature. Mikhail Prishvin (1873-1954) noted in his diary that he felt, at last, that he During the 18 50s Tolstoy was obsessed with the idea of writing a historical understood his life. Like all great works of art, Tolstoy's ma~terpiece has novel which would contrast the real texture of historic~! experience, as the capacity, on each successive reading, to transform our understanding of Jived by individuals and communities, with the disto:ted _image of the past the world. · presented by historians. This is what he set out to ~ch1eve m War ~nd Pe~ce. On any first reading, War and Peace is bound to dazzle with its immense Through the novel's central characters Tolstoy Jlixtaposes the immediate panorama of humanity. The whole of life appears to be contained in its human experience of historical events with the historical memory of them. pages. Tolstoy presents us with a cast of several'hundred characters. Yet to For ·example, when Pierre Bezukhov wanders as a spectator on to the battle­ each one he brings such profound understanding of the human condition, field of Borodino he expects to find the sort of neatly arranged battle scene with all its frailties and contradictions, that we recognize and love these that he has seen in paintings and read about in history books. Instead, he characters as reflections of our own identity. finds himself in the chaos of an actual battlefield: · Tolstoy. has an extraordinary clarity of expression - a quality which Anthony Briggs has happily maintained in this superb translation. Tolstoy Everything:'Pierre saw on either hand looked so indistinct that, glancing left or might write longer novels than anybody else, but no other writer can recreate right over the landscape, he could find nothing that quite lived up to his expec­ emotion and experience with such precision and economy. There are scenes tations. Nowhere was there a field of battle as such, the kind of thing he had in War and Peace - the unforgettable depiction of the Battle of Austerlitz, expected; there was nothing but ordinary fields, clearings, troops, woods, smoking for example, or the ball where Natasha Rostov meets Prince Andrey - in camp-fues, villages, mounds and little streams. Here was a livi~g landscape, and which Tolstoy manages in a few words to sketch the mental images which try as he might he could not make out any military positionmg. He could not . allow us to picture ourselves at the scene and seemingly to feel the emotions even tell our troops from theirs. (Vol. III, Book II, ch. 21) · of the protagonists. There are passages, like the dea~h-scene of Prince Andrey, in which Tolstoy may give to his readers the extraordinary sensation Having served as an officer in the Crimean War (1854-6), ~olstoy drew that they too have felt the experience of death; and moments, like the from his own experience to recreate the human truth of this _celebrated wonderful description of the hunt, when Tolstoy lets them imagine what it battle and to examine how its public memory could become distorted by is like to be a dog. , . the m'edium of written history. As Tolstoy shows, in the confusion of the Tolstoy once said famously that War and Peace was not meant to be a battle nobody can understand or control what.occur~. I~ such a situation, novel at all. Like all great works of art, it certainly defies all conventions. Set chance events, individual acts of bravery or calm thmkmg by the officers against the historical events ·of the Napoleonic Wars, its complex narrative can influence the morale of the troops en masse and thus·ch~nge the c?ur~e development is a long way from the tidy plot structure of the European of the battle· and this in turn creates the illusion that what 1s happenmg 1s novel in its .nineteenth-century form. Tolstoy's novel does not even have a somehow th~ result of human agency. So when the military dispatches are clear beginning, middle and end, though it does, in one sense, tum on a later written up, they invariably ascribe the outcome of the battle to the moment of epiphany, the year of 1812, when Russia's liberation from Napo­ commanders although in reality they had less influence than the random leon is made to coincide with the personal liberation of the novel's central actions of th; rank and file. By using these dispatches, historians are able to characters. impose a rational pattern a°:d 'historica_l meaning' on t~e battle, although While clearly.still a novel, War and Peace can be understood, at another neither was apparent at the time of fightmg. AFTERWORD AFTERWORD 1399

As a novelist, Tolstoy was interested most of all in the inner life of Russian This was when these officers had first become acquainted with the patriotic soc~ety du~ing the Napoleonic Wars. In War and Peace he presents this virtues of the peasant soldiers in their ranks; when they had come to realize penod of history as a crucial watershed in the culture of the Russian aristoc­ the potential of Russia's democratic nationhood. Through this literary gen­ racy. The war of 1:812 is portrayed as a national liberation from the cultural esis, War and Peace acquired several overlapping spheres of historical con­ domination of the French - a moment when Russian noblemen like the sciousness: the real-time of 1805-20 (the fictiol).al setti_ng of the novel); the Rostovs. and Bolkonskys struggled to break free from the foreign conventions living memory of this period (from which Tolstoy drew in the form of of their soci~ty ~nd beg~n new lives on Russian principles. Tolstoy plots this. personal memoirs and historical accounts); and its reflection in the political transformation m a senes of motifs. In Tolstoy's text the novel opens for consciousness of 18 5 5-6 5. Thus the novel can and should be read, not just example, in the French language of the Petersburg salon - a language 'that as an intimate portrait of Russian society in the age of the Napoleonic Wars, Tolstoy gradually reveals to be false and artificial (the novel's most idealized but as a broader statement about Russia, its people and its history as a c~ara~ters, such as Princess Marya and the peasant Karatayev, speak exclu­ whole. That is why the Russians will always turn to War and Peace, as sively m Russ~an, or, like Natas~a, speak French only with mistakes). Tolstoy Mikhail Prishvin did, to find in it the keys to their identity. shows the anstocracy renouncmg haute cuisine for Spartan lunches of rye English readers will learn more about the Russians by reading War and bread and cabbage soup, adopting national dress, settling as farmers on the Peace than they will by reading perhaps any other book. But they will also _fand and rediscovering their country's native culture, as in the immortal find in it the inspiration to make them think about the world and their own scene. when Natasha, a French-educated young countess, dances to a folk place in it. For War and Peace is a universal work and, like all the great song m the Russian style. artistic prose works of the Russian tradition, it functions as a huge poetic On this reading, War and Peace appears as a national epic- the revelation structure for the contemplation of the fundamental questions of our of_ a 'Russian consciousness' in the inner life _of its characters. In narrating existence. this drama, however, Tolstoy steps out of historical time and enters the Above all, War and Peace will move readers by virtue of its beauty as a time-space of cultural myth. He allows himself considerable artistic licence. work of art. It is a triumphant affirmation of human life in all its richness For example, the aristocracy's return to native forms of dress and recreations and complexity. That is why one can return to it and always find new actually took place o.ver several decades in the early nineteeqth century, meanings anc;I new truths in it. wher~as Tols~oy has .It h~ppen almost.overnight in 1812. But the literary creat10n of this mythical tlmesspace was central to the role which War and Peace was set to play in the formation of the national consciousness. NOTES When the first part of the novel appeared, in 1865-6, educated Russia wa~ enga~ed i~ a profound cultural and political quest to define the country's 1. Cited in Isaiah Berlin, Russian Thinkers, edit~d by Henry Hardy and national 1dent1ty. The emancipation of the serfs, in 1861, had forced society Aileen Kelly (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1994), pp. 32-3. to confront the humble peasant as a fellow-citizen and to seek new answers 2. From 'Silence' (18 57) in N. A. Nekrasov, Sochineniia (3 vols., Mos­ to _the old accursed questions about Russia's destiny in what one poet cow, 19 59 ), Vol. I, p. 201. (N1k~lay Nekrasov) called the 'rural depths where eternal silence reigns'.2 Th~ h?eral reform~ of Tsar Alexander II (Emperor of Russia 1855-81), which mcluded the mtroduction of jury trials and elected institutions of local ~~vemment,.gave rise to hopes that Russia, as a nation, would emerge and JOm the family of modem European states. Writing from this perspective, Tolstoy saw a parallel between the Russia of the 1860s and the Russia that had a.risen in the wars against Napoleon. War and Peace was originally conceived and drafted as a novel about the De~embrists, a gro~p ~f liberaLarmy officers who rose up in a failed attempt to !~pose a const1tut10n on the Tsar in December 1825. In this original version of the novel the Decembrist hero returns after thirty years of exile in_ Siberia to the intellectual ferment of the early years of Alexander II's reign. But the more Tolstoy researched into the Decembrists the more he realized that their intellectual roots we.re to be found in the 'war of 1$12.