Literature: 19th Century Russian Literary Classic - War and Peace

Over a 12 week period this course will study Leo Tolstoy’s classic nineteenth-century novel War and Peace. This novel is a monumental work and warrants slow reading and extensive study which is why an entire 12 week course will be devoted to this one novel. Regared as one of the world’s greatest novels this course will consider the social and political context of the work. We will consider the fragmented publication history which the novel had. We wll also explore the use of realism and historical detail that Tolstoy brings to his study of the French invasion of Russia. The novel is set 60 years before Tolstoy began writing the novel but it is well known that Tolstoy was meticulous in his research for this novel . As well as the narrarive that includes both fictional and real characters, spanning the period 1805 to 1820, the novel also contains essays in which Tolstoy gives his views on war, power and the nature of history and how it is recorded. This is a complex and compelling work that will broaden our knowledge of 19th century literature, history and narrative technique. We will also reflect on the different editions that are available of this text and what this tells us about translating and editing such a vast and complex work.