7 h 6 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the life you long for belongs to a world that may never accept you?
Dmitri Olenin leaves Moscow on a winter night, weary of society, burdened by debt and hungry for a truer life. In Leo Tolstoy’s short novel, The Cossacks, he travels south to the Caucasus. Snow peaks make his old worries seem small. A village near the Terek River offers a different rhythm: hunting, fishing, wine and war.
Here Olenin meets Uncle Eroshka, a loud, generous hunter with his own philosophy of living. He also falls for Maryanka, a proud young woman who guards her independence. But Lukashka, a bold Cossack admired in the village, is expected to marry her. Olenin’s wish to begin again meets lives and loyalties that do not bend around his hopes.
What you’ll discover
- Mountains that change perspective See the Caucasus through Olenin’s wonder as its snow peaks dwarf his familiar troubles.
- A hunter’s earthy wisdom Meet Uncle Eroshka, whose appetite for life offers Olenin another way to think.
- Love meets independence Encounter Maryanka’s reserve, proud bearing and determination to remain her own person.
- Life along the frontier Enter a village where hunting, fishing and wine share daily life with war.
- The wish to belong Follow Olenin’s honest doubts as Tolstoy reveals what his eager newcomer cannot see.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like a short, vivid novel with a strong sense of place, and anyone who has wished to start life over somewhere simpler. If you want fast plotting and few reflections, you may find its slow, thoughtful pace less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A bored nobleman leaves Moscow behind
- The mountains and the village on the Terek
- Uncle Eroshka teaches another way to live
- Lukashka, the frontier, and the danger across the river
- Love for Maryanka and what it asks of him
- How Tolstoy tells it: nature, contrast and honest doubt
Who’s who
- Dmitri OleninA rich young Russian nobleman, weary of society and in debt, who goes to the Caucasus hoping to start a truer life.
- MaryankaA strong, proud young Cossack woman who works hard, guards her independence and meets the newcomer with reserve.
- LukashkaA bold young Cossack, skilled and admired in the village, who is expected to marry Maryanka.
- Uncle EroshkaAn old Cossack hunter, loud, generous and fond of drink, who teaches Olenin his own simple philosophy of living.
- BeletskyA fellow officer and man of fashion who brings the manners and pleasures of Petersburg to the frontier.
- VanyushaOlenin's loyal servant, who travels with him from Moscow and keeps his master's household running.
- UlitaMaryanka's mother, who lodges Olenin in her house and watches over her family's interests.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 6 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Les Cosaques in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Classic & LiteraryFree to read
Les Cosaques
by Léon Tolstoï· 1863
A young nobleman seeks a different life in a Cossack village.
Excellent
- The whole book free
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
Opens right away, on any device
Read the whole book freeNo sign-upNothing to pay
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A bored nobleman leaves Moscow behind
The novel opens in Moscow on a winter night. Dmitri Olenin is about to leave the city, and his friends have gathered to see him off. He is young, orphaned, wealthy and used to pleasure, but he feels that his days have been wasted. He has run up debts, he has loved without commitment, and he has begun many things without finishing any.
He decides to join the army as a cadet and serve in the Caucasus. Part of him wants a fresh start. Part of him wants adventure and the chance to be brave, as the books of his day promised a soldier could be. He takes his servant Vanyusha, his horses and his belongings, and he sets out on a long road south.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
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.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Léon Tolstoï
All 16 books
Free
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Les Cosaques
Is the whole book really free?
Yes. Les Cosaques is one of 200 complete books that are free to read and hear, with no sign-up and nothing to pay. Start free and you also get 200,000+ more classics, the 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Cossacks by Tolstoy about?
It follows Dmitri Olenin, a young Russian nobleman who leaves Moscow for a Cossack village in the Caucasus. He hopes to find a more honest life, and falls in love with a Cossack woman, Maryanka.
Is The Cossacks based on a true story?
It is fiction, but it draws on Tolstoy's own army service in the Caucasus in the early 1850s. Olenin is partly a portrait of the author as a young man. It was published in 1863.
Who are the Cossacks in the novel?
They are frontier settlers and warriors who live along the Terek River in the Caucasus. They farm, hunt and make wine, and the men guard the border against raids from the mountains.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
