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The Forum: Tolstoy: War and Peace

Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezukhov in the 1972 BBC 20- part dramatization of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

23/07/2020 GMT

Tolstoy: War and Peace

BBC World Service - The Forum, Tolstoy: War and Peace

An epic sweep of war and love and family life set in 19th century Russia

Hailed as one of the best novels ever written, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is an epic sweep of war and love and family life set in 19th century Russia.

'War and Peace' by the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy charts the story of Russia during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, covering the pandemonium and brutality of the battlefield, as well as the equally intense dramas and loves of several families. It is a monumental novel, tracking the fortunes of dozens of brilliantly drawn individuals, with a cast of more than six hundred characters, both historical and fictional. So why is 'War and Peace' still such a compelling masterpiece, and why did Tolstoy later disown it?

Joining Bridget Kendall are Dr Galina Alexeeva, head of Research at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy’s former country estate in Russia; Andrei Zorin, Professor of Russian at Oxford University and author of a new biography of Tolstoy, and Professor Donna Orwin, author of 'Simply Tolstoy', who’s from the University of Toronto in Canada. 

(Image: Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezukhov in the 1972 BBC 20- part dramatization of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Credit: BBC Copyright pictures)

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