hit by enemy fire. He is then captured by Napoleon, whom he idolizes in a confused way.

*Tilsit

*Tilsit (TIHL-siht). East Prussian town (now a Russian town called Sovetsk) where Napoleon and Czar Alexander meet under truce. Nikolai Rostov is first horrified by the upstart Corsican’s presumption of equality with the divine-right monarch of Russia, then confused as to how their sudden profession of friendship can be reconciled with the pile of amputated limbs in Denisov’s infirmary.

*Borodino

*Borodino (bo-ro-DEE-no). Battle site about seventy miles west of Moscow where the Russians try to stop Napoleon’s invasion. Here Tolstoy combines the historical and the fictional, both passing judgment upon the performance of Napoleon and General Kutuzov, and further developing the characters of Prince Andrei and Pierre.

*Tarutino

*Tarutino (tah-roo-TEE-no). Battle site at which the Russians rout the French. Here Tolstoy shows Napoleon as the prisoner of the blind panic of his own army, while he fancies himself in command. Paradoxically, Pierre finds a strange freedom in being a prisoner of war, bereft of distractions such as titles and conveniences, reduced to his essential humanity.

The Napoleonic Wars

In 1789, the French Revolution surged through France, representing a pivotal moment in Western history. This uprising was partially inspired by the American Revolution, which had overthrown the British monarchy and established a nation founded on democratic ideals. However, the French Revolution was primarily a rebellion against the extensive abuses of the French aristocracy, who indulged in luxury while the lower classes faced heavy taxes and economic constraints. When the peasants realized that the French government intended to use force against protesters, they responded with violence. The situation escalated as the populace systematically targeted and eliminated individuals of aristocratic descent. After a prolonged struggle, King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine in Paris in 1793. This was followed by a two-year period known as the Reign of Terror, during which revolutionary leaders executed over 17,000 people.

During this chaotic period, France's adversaries sought to exploit the turmoil. Consequently, France found itself in a state of constant warfare. Amidst this chaos, conservative factions within the government supported the rise of military commander Napoleon Bonaparte, who saw the solution to the government's instability in seizing control. He was appointed First Consul by the constitution of 1799, and in 1802, he declared himself First Consul for life. By 1804, a new constitution had named him Emperor, a title intended to be passed down to his heirs.

Napoleon's impact was felt in nearly every facet of French social life. However, his primary focus was on military conquest. Given the long-standing enmity between England and France, he aimed to conquer England. However, as England was the most powerful and significant nation globally at that time, his plans were thwarted. He then turned his attention to Russia. The Treaty of Tilsit, signed with Russian Emperor Alexander I in 1807, divided Europe between them: the French controlled Holland, Westphalia, Spain, and Italy. By 1809, Napoleon had dominion over most of Europe, excluding Russia and England. In 1812, he invaded Russia with an army of 500,000 troops, an event depicted in the novel War and Peace.

Emancipation of the Serfs

From the 1600s until the mid-nineteenth century, the Russian economy operated on the principle of serfdom. Serfs were agricultural laborers legally bound to work on large estates and farms. Additionally, serfs were considered the property of the landowners who owned the land they worked on. While a serf could theoretically buy his freedom or work it off, this was a rare occurrence (serfs were always male; female peasants were attached to their husbands or parents and were similarly the property of the landowners). Landowners had a duty to care for their serfs, and during difficult times, they might have to endure financial losses to ensure that their serfs were adequately fed.

This social system was always filled with tension. Similar to War and Peace, when war disrupted society and forced landlords to abandon their estates, open rebellion was only averted by those serfs who remained loyal to tradition. In America, the concurrent slave system was justified by theories of racial inferiority, but the Russian system had even less justification for why one person could rule over another. Many aristocrats recognized this, and following the Napoleonic Wars, they formed secret societies that would eventually lead to the Decembrist uprising.

The Decembrist uprising marked the first true revolution in modern Russia. In 1817, landowners began forming secret societies modeled after groups like the Masonic Order. Societies such as the Society of Russian Knights and the Union of Welfare initially functioned as gentlemen's clubs, but as they grew, their rhetoric became more revolutionary. When Tsar Alexander I died unexpectedly in December 1825, confusion about the succession allowed the uprising's members to rally three thousand soldiers. Tsar Nicholas, Alexander's successor, amassed fifteen thousand troops, resulting in a massacre at Senate Square. The secret society members were arrested and imprisoned. After trials, the leaders were executed, and over a hundred received jail sentences. Since then, Russian revolutionaries have acted in the names of the Decembrists.

Unsurprisingly, Nicholas' reign was conservative and intolerant of dissent. However, even he understood that the old aristocracy's days were numbered. He established commissions to examine the issue of serfdom. By 1855, when his son Alexander II ascended the throne, it was evident that the country was heading towards chaos and that the serf system was unsustainable. Alexander II had a committee work for four years to find a way for Russia to transition beyond the serf structure with minimal disruption.

The system Alexander II announced through his Imperial Manifesto Emancipating the Serfs divided the land: landlords retained half, while communes, or mirs, distributed the other half equally among the serfs. The peasants were given forty-nine years to repay the cost of their land. This proclamation was read in churches across Russia in February 1861, two years before Tolstoy began writing War and Peace. These reforms still left the former serfs, now peasants, under the control of a government dominated by an aristocracy. The issues of freedom and class continued to simmer in Russia, eventually culminating in the Russian Revolution of 1917.

1805: America, having secured its independence from England in 1783, is still in the process of forming its national identity. A second conflict with England will occur from 1812 to 1814.

1866-1869: Following the Civil War, America enters a phase known as Reconstruction.

Today: America stands as a stable nation, recognized as the world's leading economic and military power.

1815: Four days after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, London's Morning Chronicle breaks the news, outpacing other British newspapers.

1866: The telegraph is the primary mode of long-distance communication. In the United States, Western Union dominates with 75,000 miles of wire, establishing itself as the first major monopoly.

Today: Thanks to the Internet, news from around the world is available instantly.

1807: Former Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested for his involvement in a plot to create an independent nation comprising Mexico and parts of the Louisiana Territory.

1868: President Andrew Johnson is subjected to an impeachment trial for dismissing the Secretary of War, violating a recent law that required congressional consent for the removal of certain cabinet members. The opposition falls one vote short of the required number for impeachment.

Today: President Bill Clinton is impeached by the Senate over a sex scandal. Despite his impeachment, his approval ratings soar following his acquittal.

1805-1815: Napoleon Bonaparte rules as the Emperor of France, having risen to power during the French Revolution.

1866-1869: Napoleon III, Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, reigns as the Emperor of France. Initially elected president in 1848, he later assumes dictatorial powers in 1852.

Today: France operates as a republic where the president is elected democratically by the people.

1805: Russia's population stands at approximately thirty-three million people.

1866: Russia's population has grown to around seventy-six million people.

Today: Russia has a population of roughly 149 million people.

The definitive adaptation of War and Peace is the six-and-a-half-hour film created in Russia in 1968, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. This version is accessible on videocassette from Continental Distributing, available with either dubbing or subtitles.

War and Peace is also offered on audiocassette as a 45-tape package from Books on Tape, Inc., narrated by Walter Zimmerman.

Another notable film adaptation was made in 1956 by King Vidor, featuring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Herbert Lom, Vittorio Gassman, and Anita Ekberg.

In 1994, the British Broadcasting Corporation produced a six-part miniseries adaptation starring Colin Baker, Faith Brook, Alan Dobie, and Anthony Hopkins. This series can be found through BBC Video.

The novel has even been transformed into an opera by Sergei Prokofiev, who is well-known for his work on Peter and the Wolf. The opera adaptation of Tolstoy's classic premiered at the Malay Theater in Leningrad on June 12, 1946.

Arnold, Matthew, "Count Leo Tolstoy," in Fortnightly Review, December, 1887.

Christian, R. R., "War and Peace" - A Study, Clarendon Press, 1962.

Fodor, Alexander, Tolstoy and the Russians: Reflections on a Relationship, Ardis Press, 1984.

James, Henry, "Preface to The Tragic Muse," in The Art of the Novel, C. Scribner's Sons, 1934.

Simmons, Ernest J., Tolstoy, Routledge & Kegan Paul, Boston, 1973, p. 81.

Wasiolek, Edward, Tolstoy's Major Fiction, The University of Chicago Press, 1978.

For Further Study

Berlin, Isaiah, "Tolstoy and Enlightenment," in Mightier than the Sword, MacMillan & Co., 1964.
A significant evaluation of the frequent accusation that Tolstoy was a great fiction writer but a flawed philosopher.

Christian, R. R., Tolstoy's War and Peace - A Study, The Clarendon Press, 1962.
A thorough and highly recommended analysis of the novel.

Citato, Pietro, Tolstoy, Schocken Books, 1986.
Authored by an Italian literary critic, this concise biography introduces readers to the essential aspects of Tolstoy's life and works.

Crankshaw, Edward, Tolstoy: The Making of a Novelist, The Viking Press, 1974.
Explores Tolstoy's evolution as a novelist.

Crego Benson, Ruth, "Two Natashas," in Women in Tolstoy: The Ideal and the Erotic, University of Illinois Press, 1973.
Investigates the tension between Tolstoy's depiction of Natasha as a strong, multifaceted heroine and his tendency to view women primarily as objects of beauty.

Debreczeny, Paul, "Freedom and Necessity: A Reconsideration of War and Peace," in Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature, No. 2, Spring, 1971.
Debreczeny's grasp of Tolstoy's core philosophy enables him to interpret the novel's varied elements as a unified, seamless narrative.

Greenwood, E. B., "The Problem of Truth in War and Peace," in Tolstoy: The Comprehensive Vision, St. Martin's Press, 1975.
Examines Tolstoy's fascination with the issue of historical truth.

Johnson, Claudia D., To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries, Twayne, 1994.
An in-depth examination of the novel that provides historical and literary context along with a discussion of key themes and issues.

Morrison, Gary Saul, Hidden in Plain View: Narrative and Creative Potentials in "War and Peace", Stanford University Press, 1987.
Analyzes the structure of the novel.

Sampson, R. V., "Leo Tolstoy 'God Sees the Truth, But Does Not Quickly Reveal It'," in The Discovery of Peace, Pantheon Books, 1973.
Sampson looks at several influential writers who have shaped the moral debate concerning war.

Simmons, Ernest J., "War and Peace," in Introduction to Tolstoy's Writings, The University of Chicago Press, 1968.
This chapter in a book about Tolstoy's major works offers a stylistic and thematic analysis of the novel.