7 h 6 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 6 minPaperback · 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.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy stories of outsiders seeking a new home, wild landscapes, hunting and village life. It also speaks to readers drawn to young love across the gap between two worlds.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Olénin leaves Moscow chasing a clean start
- The sight of the mountains changes everything
- The Cossack village runs on women and war
- Lukáshka the Snatcher earns his glory
- Soldiers arrive and a cadet meets a hunter
- Eróshka teaches that nature has one law for all
- Alone in the forest, Olénin finds a rule for happiness
- Love grows where it has no right to
- What the story is really about, and how it is told
Who’s who
- Dmítri OléninA rich, restless Moscow cadet who seeks a new, honest life among the Cossacks.
- MaryánkaDaughter of the cornet, a proud, strong Cossack girl promised to Lukáshka and drawing Olénin's eye.
- LukáshkaA young, brave Cossack nicknamed the Snatcher who wants glory, a horse and Maryánka.
- Daddy EróshkaAn old, huge hunter and drinker who becomes Olénin's friend and teacher in the ways of nature.
- VanyúshaOlénin's serf, practical and suspicious of the Cossacks, who loves tossing out bits of French.
- Granny UlítkaMaryánka's mother, a stern, hardworking Cossack wife who rents her hut to the cadet.
- BelétskiA cheerful officer from Moscow society who pursues the village girls and urges Olénin to do likewise.
- NazárkaLukáshka's young, shrill-voiced comrade at the outpost, always ready for a spree.
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.
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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.
Les Cosaques
by Léon Tolstoï · 1863
A young Moscow nobleman rides to the Caucasus and finds a village, a hunter and a Cossack girl who change him.
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In short
A young Moscow nobleman has wasted half his fortune and cannot love anyone. So he rides off to the Caucasus to begin again.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Olénin leaves Moscow chasing a clean start
The story opens on a winter night in Moscow. Dmítri Olénin, twenty-four, drinks farewell wine with friends before leaving for the Caucasus as a cadet. He has left university, wasted half his money and hurt a girl who loved him.
On the road he sorts his life like luggage. He counts versts and rubles, owes six hundred and seventy-eight rubles to a tailor, and dreams of glory. Each time his thoughts wander, faces from Moscow walk into the dream.
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What is The Cossacks by Tolstoy about?
It follows Dmítri Olénin, a rich Moscow cadet who settles in a Cossack village in the Caucasus. He befriends an old hunter, admires a young Cossack woman and tries to find an honest way to live.
Who is Maryánka in The Cossacks?
Maryánka is the daughter of a Cossack cornet and the most beautiful girl in the village. She is strong, proud and promised to the young Cossack Lukáshka, yet she draws the attention of her new lodger.
Is The Cossacks based on a true story?
The story follows Olénin's experiences in the Caucasus.
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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