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Audiobook edition · 2 h 11 minPaperback · 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
Readers who like a story told in clear scenes, with sharp portraits of ordinary people, a winter landscape you can feel, and a close look at money, pride and kindness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A deal draws a merchant outward
- Low wages hide a person's worth
- The horse knows what pride misses
- Warmth cannot overcome the merchant's hurry
- Practical care replaces the lost road
- Fear exposes two ways of thinking
- Possessions cannot answer the storm
- Repeated images let the night argue
- The night tests imperfect human beings
Who’s who
- Vasili Andreevich BrekhunovA prosperous village merchant and church elder, proud of his wealth and sure he treats people fairly, who rushes off to buy a valuable grove.
- NikitaA kind, hardworking peasant of about fifty who is paid little, has sworn off vodka, and wants to buy his son a horse by spring.
- MukhortyVasili's clever, well-fed bay stallion, playful in the yard, who pulls the sledge and often senses the way better than the men.
- PetrushkaA cheerful, married young man in Grishkino who knows a primer almost by heart and guides the travelers to the turn.
- Vasili's wifeA thin, pregnant woman who begs her husband to take Nikita along because she fears the weather and the money he carries.
- MarthaNikita's wife, who runs the household, collects goods and money against his unpaid wages, and lives with a cooper.
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Master and Man
by Leo Tolstoy · 1895
A merchant and his hired man drive into a blizzard, and a bay stallion named Mukhorty must find the way.
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“I have spoken first of the ethical works of Tolstoy, because they are of the first importance to me, but I think that his aesthetical works are as perfect.”
In short
Would you risk your life to close a deal a day sooner? Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov, a village merchant, does exactly that on a freezing afternoon in the 1870s.
Master and Man at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 15 min1 h fast, 1 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 18,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1895by Leo Tolstoy
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A merchant sets out in a hurry
The story opens in the village called The Crosses, on a winter day with a parish festival. Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov is an innkeeper and a Second Guild merchant. As soon as the last of his visiting relatives leaves, his mind turns back to business.
He wants to buy the Goryachkin grove from a young landowner. Vasili has heard that dealers from town are also interested. So he takes seven hundred rubles from his strongbox, adds two thousand three hundred of church money he is holding, counts the notes carefully and goes.
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Details
- First published
- 1895
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Tolstoy, Leo. Master and Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/master-and-man.
Tolstoy, L. (2026). Master and man. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/master-and-man (Original work published 1895)
Tolstoy, Leo. Master and Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/master-and-man.
@book{tolstoy2026master,
author = {Tolstoy, Leo},
title = {Master and Man},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/master-and-man},
note = {First published 1895}
}
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What is Master and Man about?
It follows a wealthy merchant, Vasili Andreevich, and his laborer Nikita, who drive through a snowstorm to buy a grove of timber. They lose the road, and the night makes each man face what his life is built on.
Who are Nikita and Mukhorty in Master and Man?
Nikita is the peasant laborer, about fifty, who is kind, underpaid and sworn off drinking. Mukhorty is the merchant's bay stallion, who pulls the sledge and has a better sense of direction than either man.
Is Master and Man based on a true story?
It is a work of fiction, set in Russia in the 1870s, and written by Tolstoy in the mid 1890s. The details of village life, trade and travel by sledge are drawn from the world he knew.
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.
“Work hard, and God provides.”
More by Leo Tolstoy
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