Cover of War and Peace

War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

First published
1869
Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"War and Peace" by graf Leo Tolstoy is a literary work published in 1869. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it chronicles the French invasion of Russia through five interlocking narratives following different Russian aristocratic families. The work blends fictional storytelling with philosophical discussions about history, war, and power. Tolstoy himself hesitated to classify it, saying it is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle." It remains one of the most praised classics of world literature.

  • Historical fiction
  • War stories
  • Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
  • Russia
  • Aristocracy (Social class)

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #2600. War and Peace on Wikipedia.

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