La risposta breve
- Choose our edition if you want the whole War and Peace: nothing left out, with a 15-minute summary beside it.
- For study: set a few key passages of War and Peace beside a close, annotated scholarly translation.
How translations differ
War and Peace opens in a St Petersburg salon where the guests speak French, and Tolstoy leaves whole French passages in the Russian text. A translator must therefore decide whether to retain the French with notes or turn it into English.
What makes War and Peace hard to translate
A character in War and Peace can appear under several forms of his name. Russian names combine a first name, a name taken from the father, called a patronymic, and a family name. Diminutives add further forms. Translating the names therefore involves more than carrying a single name across: the connection between those forms must remain clear enough for a reader to recognise the character.
Between the story chapters, Tolstoy places essays on history and on how wars are decided. Their place in the book creates a question about structure as well as language: are readers encountering them within the novel or apart from it? The work joins family stories to these discussions of history. A translation must account for both the narrative chapters and the essays, rather than treating the story as the whole text.
The kinds of translation of War and Peace
| Kind of translation | What it keeps | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Close to the original | The Russian word order and flavour of War and Peace | Study, next to the Russian. |
| Smooth and natural | War and Peace as a story that reads like an English novel | A first read. |
| Annotated | The names, history and allusions of War and Peace, explained in notes | Study and teaching. |
| Library of Alexandria | The whole story of War and Peace, in clear, modern English | A first read, with a 15-minute summary beside it. Open our edition |
When to set a passage beside a scholarly translation
For study, use our edition for the whole story and set a few key passages beside a close, annotated scholarly translation. Compare the opening: the salon of Anna Pavlovna in 1805, noticing the treatment of French. At Natasha's first ball, check the forms of characters' names. At the battle of Borodino, consider the battle alongside the essays on how wars are decided.
Questions
Is War and Peace hard to translate?
Yes: its French passages, Russian naming system and essays on history make War and Peace hard to translate. A character can appear under several names, while the essays interrupt the story chapters. Translating the work means accounting for those forms of address and for both narrative and historical argument.
How long is War and Peace?
War and Peace takes about 38 hours to read at an average pace. It follows several noble families through the Napoleonic wars, from 1805 to 1812 and after, and ends with two epilogues.
Why is there French in War and Peace?
The French belongs to the opening salon scenes, where the guests speak French, and Tolstoy leaves whole passages in that language within the Russian text. A translator can retain those passages with notes or put them into English. Comparing the opening shows how that decision is handled.
Which kind of translation is best for a first read of War and Peace?
Smooth and natural suits a first read: it keeps a story that reads like an English novel. For study, Close to the original keeps the author's own word order and flavour for comparison with the Russian, while Annotated explains names, history and allusions in notes.
Is the Library of Alexandria edition of War and Peace complete?
Yes. The whole story is there, from beginning to end, in clear, modern language.
