Leo Tolstoy

Britannica

One of the most important writers of all time is Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Here are some facts about Tolstoy and his genius:

Private Life:

• He was born an aristocrat.
• His name was Lev Nikolayevich, Graf (Count) Tolstoy
• In order to publish his first works, he concealed his identity. (reference)
• Tolstoy and his wife, Sophia Behrs, have had 13 children.
• The couple however was not happily married.(reference)
• He was excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church (reference)
• He was exchanging correspondences with Mahatma Ghandi. 
• At the age of 50 he became a vegetarian (reference)

Artistic Genius:

• He is considered to be a master of Realistic Fiction
• His works have been characterized as Works of Life and not works of art.
• He is famous for his two longest works 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina' (reference)
• Tolstoy's wife, Sophia Behrs, helped Tolstoy revise 'War and Peace' and wrote all revised versions by hand. (reference)
• Tolstoy refused a Noble Nomination by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1906.
• He did not admire William Shakespeare (reference)

Tolstoy's works fall into two categories - Fiction and Non-Fiction. 

His Fiction works consists of approximately:

• 3 Novels
• 11 Novellas
• 44 Short Stories
• 24 Fables and Parables
• 6 Plays 
• 3 Unfinished works

His Non-Fiction work consists of approximately:

• 40 Philosophical Works
• 3 works on art and literature
• 2 articles
• 4 Pedagogical works.   (reference)

 ©2021