Showing results by author "Leo Tolstoy" in All Categories

A captivating and thought-provoking listen, War and Peace chronicles the French invasion of Russia and the lasting impact it had on five aristocratic families. It will take you on a soul-stirring journey as we follow several interconnected characters of the Tsarist society during the early 19th century as they navigate through love, fears, and personal struggles against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

La novela se desarrolla en la Rusia de los Zares, donde Ana Karenina, una hermosa mujer casada con un poderoso ministro del gobierno ruso, se enamora de un apuesto y rico oficial del ejército, el Conde Vronsky. Buscando la felicidad y desafiando las reglas y normas de la sociedad rusa, Ana Karenina, abandona su esposo e hijo para vivir con su amante, con devastadores resultados.

A classic short story by Leo Tolstoy, this is the tale of the journey of Vasili Andreevich and his servant Nikita, set in rural Russia in the 1870's. It provides insight into the human character and condition, greed, and social hierarchy. Gripping, touching, and reflective.

Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth?

The Essential Classics: Volume 1 brings together some of the most astute, gripping and tragic works written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, beautifully read by Miranda Raison, Pearl Mackie, Jonathan Keeble, Peter Noble, and Olivia Dowd. Spanning English, Russian and German literature, in this collection you will find the terrifying trials of iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, Dickens’s cutting social commentary in Bleak House, as well as classic coming-of-age narratives with The Magic Mountain and Tolstoy’s realist masterpiece in Anna Karenina.

In Critique of Dogmatic Theology, Tolstoy embarks on a bold exploration of Orthodox Christianity, reflecting his deepening spiritual journey. This thoughtful work serves as both a systematic analysis and a heartfelt examination of religious beliefs and traditions. Following the groundwork laid in A Confession, Tolstoy presents the insights garnered from his thorough research and unflinching inquiry. This book invites readers to reconsider the foundations of faith and the complexities of spiritual life, making it a significant contribution to discussions on religion and belief. - Summary by ...

Dive into the striking contrasts of wealth and poverty in Tolstoys Russia with this engaging podcast. Through a vivid lens, we explore the deep-rooted causes of economic inequality and envision a more just society. Tolstoy recounts his unsettling experiences with extreme poverty in Moscow, initially believing that financial generosity could alleviate suffering—only to discover that the complexities of poverty are far more intricate. He reflects on the interconnectedness of the affluent, including himself, and the struggles of the less fortunate, revealing how this dynamic harms both sides. ...

Resurrection, the final major work of fiction by Leo Tolstoy published during his lifetime, delves into the profound injustices of man-made laws and the hypocrisy embedded within institutionalized religion. Initially serialized in the magazine Niva to support the resettlement of the Dukhobors, this compelling narrative follows nobleman Nekhlyudov on his quest for redemption after a long-buried sin resurfaces. His fleeting affair with a maid leads to her dismissal and a descent into prostitution, igniting his determination to rescue her from despair. As he grapples with his own moral and mental...

Dive into Youth, the captivating third installment of Tolstoys autobiographical trilogy, which includes Childhood and Boyhood. Originally published in a literary journal during the 1850s, this novel offers a poignant reflection on the complexities of youth and the journey to adulthood. (Introduction by Bill Boerst)

Resurrection stands as the final major work of fiction published by Tolstoy during his lifetime. With this poignant novel, Tolstoy shines a light on the injustices of man-made laws and the hypocrisy entrenched within institutionalized religion. Initially published in the magazine Niva to support the resettlement of the Dukhobors, the narrative follows nobleman Nekhlyudovs quest for redemption after a long-buried sin resurfaces. His fleeting affair with a maid, which led to her dismissal and subsequent fall into prostitution, haunts him as he grapples with guilt and strives to alleviate her ...

In The Death of Ivan Ilyitch, we follow the life of a socially ambitious middle-aged judge who suddenly finds himself grappling with a mysterious and terminal illness. As Ivan confronts the specter of death, he begins to question the very essence of his existence, pondering whether the life he believed to be morally sound was truly meaningful. This poignant novella, shaped by Tolstoys own spiritual awakening, is celebrated as one of his greatest works. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)

Contents: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, The City of the Sun by Tommaso Campanella, The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon, Utopia by Thomas More, Utilitarianism byJohn Stuart Mill, On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, An Answer to the Question What is Enlightenment by Immanuel Kant, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, A Confession by Leo Tolstoy, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, The Madman, His Parables and Poems by Kahlil Gibran, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.

In Family Happiness, 17-year-old Marya embarks on a whirlwind romance with Sergyei Mikhailitch, a much older family friend. Their marriage begins in bliss, but as they settle into life in St. Petersburg, Maryas fascination with high society creates a growing divide between them. Will their love withstand the challenges of ambition and social allure? (Summary by EvanJ)

After facing heartbreak with his fiancée, Prince Stepan Kasatsky makes the life-altering decision to become a monk. Beneath the surface of this narrative lies Father Sergius profound quest for inner peace. He grapples with feelings of disillusionment and dissatisfaction, seeking contentment in a world that often eludes him. It is only at the end of his journey that he learns to relinquish his lifelong struggle for superiority and embraces the beauty of the ordinary.

This audiobook includes 10 Great Russian Short Stories: The Mantle by Nikolai Gogol, Mumu by Ivan Turgenev, First love by Ivan Turgenev, An Avenger by Anton Chekhov, Darkness by Anton Chekhov, The Death of Ivan Illyich by Leo Tolstoy, Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Little Angel by Leonid Andreyev, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, A Troublesome Visitor by Anton Chekhov.

The diary is that most intimate of journals, of records. Within its pages the writer records and gives expression to their thoughts, their feelings, their emotional state on all the things that make up and surround them in this world. With authors of the calibre of Bulgakov, Woolf, Tolstoy, Twain and many others this volume explores characters whose lives seem dominated by these diaries, and the events that unfold are both compelling and literary journeys into the very personal and intimate side of their characters’ lives.

A Confession, or My Confession, is a short work on the subject of melancholia, philosophy and religion by the acclaimed Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. It was written in 1879 to 1880, when Tolstoy was in his early fifties. The book is a brief autobiographical story of the author's struggle with a mid-life existential crisis. It describes his search for the answer to the ultimate philosophical question: "If God does not exist, since death is inevitable, what is the meaning of life?." Without the answer to this, for him, life had become "impossible".

Leo Tolstoy, best known for the novels Anna Karenina and War and Peace, also wrote short stories that expound on Christianity. The Godson is a moving parable about a man finding a way to understand himself, the events around him, and his purpose in life. The story is about a son who was born to a poor peasant who rejoiced and went to a neighbour to ask him to become godfather to the boy.

Leo Tolstoy wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These culminated in What Is Art?, published in 1898. Although Tolstoy perceived the question of art to be a religious one, he considered and rejected the idea that art reveals and reinvents through beauty. The works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire, and even his own novels are condemned in the course of Tolstoy's impassioned and iconoclastic redefinition of art as a force for good; for the improvement of humankind.

Along with historical narrative, hear rare recordings of some of the most iconic people in history, including Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Edward Gladston, Guiglielmo Marconi, Willaim McKinley, Leo Tolstoy, William Booth, Pope Leo XIII, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Dr. Frederick Cook, and William E. Peary.