The uncrowned Tsar of Russia

Tolstoy: A Russian Life

Leo Tolstoy’s long life coincided with one of the most turbulent periods of Russian history, but he never allowed himself to be overwhelmed by it. If anything, the opposite is true.

Published 100 years after Tolstoy’s death, Rosamund Bartlett’s new biography traces the maddening twists and turns of this contrary life. While there have been other Tolstoy biographies — Henri Troyat’s sweeping 1965 effort and AN Wilson’s more opinionated version from 1988 — Bartlett’s book enjoys certain advantages over both for the reader who knows little about the subject. She eschews literary analysis in favour of Tolstoy the man, and is particularly strong on the intimate relationship between his work and the ordinary Russians who inspired it.