Showing results by author "Leo Tolstoy" in All Categories

Dissolute, disenchanted Dmitri Olénin decides to join the army as a cadet and is despatched to the Caucasus. There, he is transformed by seeing how the indigenous people live in harmony with nature, how their lives have more meaning than those of the superficial social elite in Moscow, and he finds a new sense of self and purpose. But nothing is ever quite that simple.

Love and loyalty are tested to the very limits in this semi-autobiographical novella, which is one of Tolstoy’s best-loved works.

The best collection of Russian short stories includes: Fyodor Dostoevsky: Notes from the Underground, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree. Leo Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Kholstomer, the Story of a Horse, Alyosha the Pot, A Letter to a Hindu, A Confession, God Sees the Truth, but Waits, A Russian Christmas Party. Anton Chekhov: Kashtanka, Gusev, The Darling, The Lady with the Dog, A Slander, The Horse-Stealers, The Petchenyeg, A Dead Body, A Happy Ending, The Looking-GlassOld Age, Darkness, The Beggar, In Trouble, Frost, Minds in Ferment, Gone Astray.

Leo Tolstoy: The Novellas includes unabridged recordings of Leo Tolstoy's 10 greatest novellas in one audiobook, all read by Audie Award-winning narrators.

Beautiful, popular, and fortunate, Anna Karenina is an upright wife and mother. But her passionless marriage to a senior statesman leads her into the arms of Count Alexey Vronsky. The dashing cavalry officer stokes in her something exciting and defiant. In abandoning the rules of her noble station, she's aware of the risks: a degraded reputation and the hostile recriminations of St. Petersburg society. But there are even greater stakes as Anna follows desires both romantic and carnal, emancipating and destructive.

The Ultimate Essays Collection is a wide-ranging collection of 30 classic essays analysing everything from war to love, journalism to race, travel to nature, and much more, read by an award-winning cast of narrators. Included here are essays by some of the greatest writers of all time, including George Orwell; Thomas Paine; Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Henry David Thoreau; Virigina Woolf; Sigmund Freud; Zorea Neale Huston; Langston Hughes; Jack London, and more.

Grab yourself a hot chocolate and get cosy for a collection of wintery Christmas stories that will have your little ones dreaming of Santa Claus and his reindeers.

The Ultimate Classics Collection: Volume Two is the second instalment of our wide-ranging classic collections. Volume Two features 13 essential classic novels from Jane Austen; Edith Wharton; Leo Tolstoy; D.H. Lawrence, and many more, alongside selected poetry from Christina Rossetti; Elizabeth Browning; and Emily Dickinson. Read by a cast of incredible narrators including Joanne Froggatt, Adjoa Andoh, Jonathan Keeble, and many more, this is your new go-to collection to catch up on those classics you've always wanted to hear.

First published in 1865 by The Russian Messenger, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is considered to be one of the longest novels ever written, although Tolstoy himself did not consider this book "a novel". Interspersed between narrative chapters concerning five aristocratic families are several philosophical and historical chapters against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, where Tolstoy weaves a tale of drama with characters that include statesmen and generals of that era, mixing domestic life, balls, and war councils into one epic story.

A beautiful society wife from St. Petersburg, determined to live life on her own terms, sacrifices everything to follow her conviction that love is stronger than duty. A socially inept but warmhearted landowner pursues his own visions instead of conforming to conventional views. The adulteress and the philosopher head the vibrant cast of characters in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's tumultuous tale of passion and self-discovery. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Tolstoy is primarily known for his impressively long novels, but he also wrote some wonderful short stories. This one, dealing with ambition and greed, has an unforgettable message.

Leo Tolstoy: The Novellas and Short Stories includes unabridged recordings of Leo Tolstoy's 12 greatest novellas in one audiobook, all read by Audie Award-winning narrators.

When Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace was published in 1869, his genius was immediately recognized by people all over the world. In the later part of Leo Tolstoy's life, however, he began to share his deepest thoughts about Christianity in his writing. His definition of Christianity was not the same as the priests and bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church where there was so much pomp and pageantry. Tolstoy could care less for all that ceremony. He was a radical follower of Jesus Christ's teachings, particularly as found in the Sermon on the Mount (including Christ's controversial admonitions to "...

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Anna Karenina, a literary masterpiece by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy.

A delightful collection of lesser known traditional and modern fairy stories: 1. "The King of the Golden River"; 2. "The Empty Drum"; 3. "The Fire Spirit"; 4. "The Tree of Death"; 5. "The Smuggler’s Daughter"; 6. "A Dream of Wild Bees"; 7. "The Fisherman"; 8. "The Masked Ball"; 9. "The Petrified Man"; 10. "The Were-Wolf"...and many more.

For an atheist it’s a great deal, though it does suggest atheism may have a weak point. For those of faith it’s a matter of jam now and purgatory tomorrow. A bargain many artists feel is something they can live with. For agnostics it’s usually a question of can the afterlife really be that bad, would workplace regulations reach all parts of heaven and hell. However, in this volume the terms are agreed and the Devil pays his fees and the character his dues, each happy to wait a few decades for the eternal payback.

"The Emperor’s Three Questions" is a parable of an emperor who seeks out a holy man for answers to questions he believes will help him to be a great ruler. Knowing that wisdom needs to be experienced, the holy man cannot just tell the emperor. The answers that unfold in the narrative will be better remembered.

"A Confession" is an 1880 autobiographical essay on the subject of despair, philosophy, and religion by the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. In it, he describes his search for answers to questions on the meaning of life. Tolstoy discusses his various attempts to find answers in science, philosophy, Eastern wisdom, and the opinions of his fellow novelists. Recognizing the deep religious convictions of ordinary people as a source of answers, he challenges the authenticity of organized religion.

In his perceptive and moving depiction of Ivan Ilych, a worldly careerist facing his own mortality in the midst of a self-absorbed family and indifferent colleagues, Tolstoy provides one of literature's greatest and most memorable reflections on the meaning of the good life and on life as preparation for death.

Anna Karenina enjoys a privileged and aristrocratic lifestyle as the wife of influential government official Alexy Karenin. Yet their ten-year marriage is devoid of tenderness, and when Anna falls in love with the handsome Count Vronsky they embark upon a deep and passionate affair. Reflecting the social conditions of the era in which it was written, Tolstoy's masterpiece sets a doomed love story against a harsh and unforgiving backdrop.

Set against some of the most momentous events in 19th century Europe, this epic novel nonetheless also deals effectively with the intensely personal experiences of its characters. It features Tolstoy's most beautiful heroine, Nat.