2 h 11 minAudiobook8 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 is a fortune worth when the road disappears beneath the snow?
Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov wants to buy a grove cheaply, and he cannot bear to lose the deal. The prosperous merchant sets out by sleigh with Nikita, his patient laborer, into the Russian winter. As wind drives snow across the fields, a business journey becomes a struggle against a storm that leaves them barely able to see their horse.
In Master and Man, Leo Tolstoy brings two different lives into close quarters. Vasili trusts his wealth and will; Nikita meets hardship calmly and tends their horse, Mukhorty, with care. As the cold closes in, the story turns inward. What does it mean to live for yourself, and what might it mean to live for someone else?
What you’ll discover
- Ambition against the storm Follow a merchant whose hunger for profit carries him into dangerous open country.
- A quiet strength Meet Nikita, whose patience and gentle care stand beside his master's restless drive.
- The vanishing road Feel the journey tighten as drifting snow hides the way ahead.
- Two lives laid bare Look closely at how wealth and poverty shape two men's thoughts in the cold.
- A question of conscience Explore the gap between building a fortune and finding meaning beyond yourself.
Who will love it
For readers who love a short, tense story with a moral at its center, and anyone curious about Tolstoy’s exploration of money, ambition and caring for others.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A merchant who wants more
- Nikita the laborer joins the trip
- The road disappears in the snow
- Out again and lost in the storm
- Two ways of facing the cold
- What the story is about and how it works
Who’s who
- Vasili Andreevich BrekhunovA proud, energetic merchant and church elder who wants to buy a grove cheaply and trusts his own will and wealth.
- NikitaA patient, poor laborer of about fifty, once a heavy drinker, now sober, who serves Vasili quietly and meets hardship calmly.
- MukhortyThe bay gelding that pulls the sleigh, tended gently by Nikita and often wiser about the road than either man.
- Vasili's wifeThe merchant's wife at home in Kresty, who sees the pair off as the weather turns uncertain.
- The peasant family at GrishkinoVillagers who offer the travelers tea and shelter from the storm, and who give Vasili a real chance to stop.
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
- 2 h 11 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 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
- 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. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Maître et serviteur 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.
Maître et serviteur
by Léon Tolstoï · 1895
A merchant and his laborer pursue a profitable deal as a Russian blizzard tests their values and threatens their lives.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A merchant who wants more
The story opens in a Russian village called Kresty, on a winter day in the 1800s, just after a church feast. Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov is a merchant, a man of some standing, and he serves as the church elder. He is proud of this. He is forty-odd, strong and energetic, and he has built his life around trade and gain.
That morning he is in a hurry. A landowner in a nearby village is selling a grove of trees, and Vasili means to buy it before another dealer gets there. He knows the price should be low if he moves fast and bargains hard. Other buyers are interested, and he fears being beaten to it.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
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
Questions about Maître et serviteur
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
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.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Master and Man about?
It tells of a rich merchant and his poor laborer who drive by sleigh through a Russian blizzard to close a land deal. The storm tests the merchant's values and shows how differently the two men face danger.
When was Master and Man written?
Tolstoy published it in 1895, after his religious turn in the late 1870s and 1880s. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on ordinary rural Russian life that he knew well.
Who are Vasili and Nikita in Master and Man?
Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov is a prosperous merchant who treats money as the measure of life. Nikita is his long-serving, poorly paid peasant laborer, patient and humble, who drives the sleigh.
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.
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
Popular in classics
See all
Free
