War and Peace — Lev N Tolstoy

Translated by Louise Aylmer Maude With an Introduction by Henry and Olga Claridge University of Kent at Canterbury War and Peace is a vast epic centred on Napoleon s war with Russia While it expresses Tolstoy s view that history is an inexorable process which man cannot influence he peoples his great novel with a cast of over five hundred characters Three of these the artless and delightful Natasha Rostov the world weary Prince Andrew Bolkonsky and the idealistic Pierre Bezukhov illustrate Tolstoy s philosophy in this novel of unquestioned mastery This translation is one which received Tolstoy s approval