Title: War and Peace
First published: April 1970
Description: War and Peace delineates in graphic detail events surrounding the French invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families.
The novel begins in the year 1805 during the reign of Tsar Alexander I and leads up to the 1812 French invasion of Russia by Napoleon. The era of Catherine the Great (1762–1796), when the royal court in Paris was the centre of western European civilization,[16] is still fresh in the minds of older people. Catherine, fluent in French and wishing to reshape Russia into a great European nation, made French the language of her royal court. For the next one hundred years, it became a social requirement for members of the Russian nobility to speak French and understand French culture.[16] This historical and cultural context in the aristocracy is reflected in War and Peace. Catherine's grandson, Alexander I, came to the throne in 1801 at the age of 24. In the novel, his mother, Marya Feodorovna, is the most powerful woman in the Russian court.

War and Peace tells the story of five aristocratic families — the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs, the Kuragins and the Drubetskoys—and the entanglements of their personal lives with the history of 1805–1813, principally Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. The Bezukhovs, while very rich, are a fragmented family as the old Count, Kirill Vladimirovich, has fathered dozens of illegitimate sons. The Bolkonskys are an old established and wealthy family based at Bald Hills. Old Prince Bolkonsky, Nikolai Andreevich, served as a general under Catherine the Great, in earlier wars. The Moscow Rostovs have many estates, but never enough cash. They are a closely knit, loving family who live for the moment regardless of their financial situation. The Kuragin family has three children, who are all of questionable character. The Drubetskoy family is of impoverished nobility, and consists of an elderly mother and her only son, Boris, whom she wishes to push up the career ladder.
Subjects: Classic, History, Russian Empire, Fiction, Russia, Russia (federation), fiction, Fiction, historical, Classic Literature, Historical Fiction, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 in fiction, Textual Criticism, Campaigns, Napoléan in fiction, Military campaigns, Open Library Staff Picks, Invasion of Russia, 1812, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1814 in fiction, English fiction, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 in fiction, open_syllabus_project, Russia in fiction, Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815) fast (OCoLC)fst01032683, Social life and customs, Napoleon in fiction, Voǐna i mir, Napoleonic Wars in fiction, Napoleonic Wars, Social conditions, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1814, Long Now Manual for Civilization, Continental european fiction (fictional works by one author), Soviet union, fiction, Fiction, war & military, Napoleonic wars, 1800-1815, fiction, Classics, Russian literature, Aristocracy (Social class), Slavic philology, Fiction, historical, general, Literature and fiction (general), Romans, nouvelles, Histoire, Guerres napoléoniennes, 1800-1815, Campagnes et batailles, Literature, Napoleon I, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821, Russian language materials, Mœurs et coutumes, Manners and customs, Fiction, general, Napoleonic wars, 1800-1815--campaigns, Napoleonic wars, 1800-1815--campaigns--russia--fiction, Pg3366 .v6 1996, 891.73/3, Russian fiction, translations into english, Parodies, imitations, Russian fiction, Translations into English, War stories
Places: Russia, Soviet Union, 1800-1815 Napoleonic Wars, Russia (Federation), St.Peterbourgh;, Russia: Moscow, Moscow, St. Petersburg (Russia), Russie
People: Napoleon I Emperor of the French (1769-1821) (1812), Napoleon I Emperor of the French (1769-1821), Napoléan I, Leo Tolstoy graf (1828-1910), Napoleon I Emperor of the French (1769-1821); Alexander I Czar of the Russian (1801-1825), Napoléon I
Time periods: 1805-1812, Alexander I, 1801-1825, Invasion of Russia, Invasion of Russia, 1812, 1801-1917, 1533-1917, 1812, from 1802 to 1815 during Napoleon's campaign to conquer the russian empire (from Austerlitz to the coming back to France), 1801-1825 (Alexandre Ier)