War and Peace

Tolstoy's panorama of Russia during Napoleon's invasion, following aristocratic families through history's turn.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Leo Tolstoy

type

Historical novel

era

Russia (1869)

language

Russian

setting

Russia, 1805–1813

parts

4 volumes

Relative Scale in Novels

Core Principles & Analysis

• Serialized as '1805' before book publication in 1869.
• It follows over 500 named characters across five aristocratic families.
• The Battle of Borodino chapters interleave Napoleon and Kutuzov with the fictional Pierre.

Sources

• Wikipedia: War and Peace