War and Peace, Book 09- 1812

War and Peace (Russian Война и мир, Voyna i mir) is a monumental epic by Leo Tolstoy, originally published between 1865 and 1869 in Russki Vestnik. This remarkable novel immerses readers in the tapestry of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era, exploring grand themes of war, peace, youth, aging, and the intricacies of marriage. Often hailed as one of Tolstoys two major masterpieces—alongside Anna Karenina—War and Peace challenged the conventions of its time, weaving together a multitude of characters and intricate plots. Although it is now regarded as a quintessential novel, many of Tolstoys contemporaries struggled to categorize it as such. Tolstoy himself viewed Anna Karenina (1878) as his first true novel in the European tradition. (Summary by Wikipedia)