Presentation This novel first appeared in serial form in the periodical Rousky vestnik (The Russian Messenger or The Russian Courier), but Tolstoy entered into conflict with the editor-in-chief Mikhail Katkov about the content of the last episode. The novel, therefore, appeared in its entirety only when it was published as a book. The soap opera nevertheless achieved great success in nineteenth-century Russia, with some women in the world going so...