63 h 43 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 63 h 43 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a glittering drawing room, war is still gossip—but soon it reaches the families gathered there.
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace follows five noble families as Napoleon’s armies threaten Russia. Pierre Bezukhov, awkward and kind, searches for a meaningful life. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky turns from empty society toward military glory. Natasha Rostova begins to discover love and her own feelings.
From St Petersburg drawing rooms to soldiers’ trenches, private hopes meet the force of war. Family loyalty, money, ambition and mistakes shape lives as Russia faces invasion. Tolstoy brings generals and servants into the same wide world, while asking how history takes shape—and whose choices truly matter.
What you’ll discover
- A search for meaning Follow Pierre as he looks beyond his fortune for a way to live with purpose.
- Love taking shape Meet Natasha as her warmth and quick feelings open onto the promise of love.
- Family warmth and strain Enter the generous Rostov household, where hospitality and loyalty sit beside growing money troubles.
- War at close quarters Move between generals’ tents and soldiers’ trenches, seeing battle from sharply different points of view.
- History beyond great men Explore Tolstoy’s challenge to familiar accounts of history and his attention to its many hands.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love big family stories, vivid battle scenes and questions about how to live a good life. It rewards anyone curious about Russia, Napoleon's wars, or how love, duty and chance shape ordinary people.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A soirée in Petersburg opens the story
- Two households stand ready for the war
- The 1805 campaign tests young men in Austria
- Austerlitz shatters a young man's dreams
- Pierre marries, fights a duel and seeks God
- Andrew, Natasha and the oak tree
- Anatole's pursuit brings Natasha to the edge
- Napoleon invades and the armies reach Borodino
- No great man moves history alone
- Meaning is found in life and in voice
Who’s who
- Pierre BezukhovA clumsy, warm-hearted young man who inherits a fortune and searches for a purpose that wealth cannot give him.
- Prince Andrew BolkonskiA proud, clever officer who longs for glory, grows weary of society and hopes to find a reason to live.
- Natasha RostovaA lively, musical girl who grows from a child into a young woman eager for love and happiness.
- Nicholas RostovA loyal young hussar who loves his Emperor and his family, and learns what war is really like.
- Princess Mary BolkonskayaAndrew's devout, patient sister who lives under her stern father's rule and cares for those around her.
- Anatole KuraginA handsome, careless young rake who goes after pleasure and does not weigh the harm he causes.
- General KutuzovThe old Russian commander who trusts his soldiers and waits, believing that patience and time will help more than plans.
- Helene KuraginaPierre's cold, beautiful wife, queen of society, who uses charm and connections to get what she wants.
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- Large print hardcover
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Guerra y paz
by León Tolstói · 1869
At a Petersburg soirée in 1805, a clumsy young man defends Napoleon and sets a vast story in motion.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readEspañol
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In short
What does it take to see a whole nation at once, from the drawing room to the battlefield? Leo Tolstoy sets out to do exactly that in War and Peace.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A soirée in Petersburg opens the story
The novel begins in July 1805 at the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, a lady of the court. Her fashionable guests talk about Napoleon, whom she calls the Antichrist, and about the war that is coming. Prince Vasili Kuragin is there, smooth and scheming, wanting good matches for his children. Marriage in this room is a matter of money and rank.
Then Pierre arrives. He is the large, awkward, illegitimate son of the dying Count Bezukhov, just home from years of study abroad. He breaks the rules of the room by defending Napoleon out loud, and the guests glance at one another.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1869
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 41 h 30 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-and-peace.
Tolstoy, L. (2026). War and peace. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-and-peace (Original work published 1869)
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-and-peace.
@book{tolstoy2026war,
author = {Tolstoy, Leo},
title = {War and Peace},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/war-and-peace},
note = {First published 1869}
}
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What is War and Peace about?
It follows three Russian families, the Rostovs, the Bolkonskis and the Kuragins, along with Pierre Bezukhov, through the years of Napoleon's wars. It joins love stories and family life with scenes of battle and a debate on history.
Who are the main characters in War and Peace?
The central figures are Pierre Bezukhov, Prince Andrew Bolkonski and Natasha Rostova. Around them stand Nicholas Rostov, Princess Mary, the Kuragins and real historical figures such as Kutuzov, Emperor Alexander and Napoleon.
Is War and Peace a true story?
The main characters are invented, but the wars are real. Tolstoy wrote it in the 1860s about the Russian campaigns of 1805 to 1812, and he places real leaders and battles such as Austerlitz and Borodino in the story.
The author
Leo Tolstoy
1828–1910 · Russian novelist and moral philosopher
Leo Tolstoy was a Russian author born in 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana, where he lived for much of his life. He wrote novels, stories, and essays. War and Peace appeared in 1865–1869 and Anna Karenina in 1875–1877. He died in 1910 at Astapovo, Russia.
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