Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana: His Life and Work in the Charmed World of His Estate

by Patricia Chute

Yasnaya Polyana was Tolstoy's estate in Russia. Sometimes it was his sanctuary and sometimes his personal hell. This book explores Tolstoy's complex relationship with, and the great influences of his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060391316
• ISBN13: 9780060391317
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Cornelia & Michael Bessie Books
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

If you don't have time for Troyat...

"Loosely translated, Yasnaya Polyana means 'clear meadow' or 'clear glade,' but to say it out loud, Yas Na Ya, rhythmic and lulling, is to begin to understand the gentle sense of it as a cocoon, as a place which offered protection, guarded innocence, and a world of childhood games which created Tolstoy's moral framework." (from the Preface).Yasnaya Polyana (2,000 acres of land situated between Kursk and Moscow) is where Tolstoy lived and wrote, and as such, it is the environment which inspired some of the greatest literature the world has ever seen. If you share my opinion that Tolstoy was far and away the greatest writer of all time (in ANY language), well, then you will undoubtedly benefit from this book by Patricia Chute. It is so well done, the author carried out extensive research at the Tolstoy State Museum, personally visited Yasnaya Polyana twice, and interviewed Tolstoy's grandaughter Mme. Vera Tolstoy, just to mention a few of her modes of inquiry. The result is this wonderful panoramic survey that reads like a novel and is not intimidating in size. In fact, for those who do not have the time to get through Henri Troyat's superb "three-course-meal" biography of Tolstoy, I recommend this book by Chute as the perfect alternative. Perfect. Bite-size in comparison. I am very impressed with the photographs (both in amount and selection) that find their way into this book. I've read so many books about Leo Tolstoy but have never seen even half of the photos that can be seen here.This book will not disappoint. Let this Table Of Contents whet your appetite:1. A Splendid Orphan and the Golden Age of Yasnaya Polyana (1828-1852)2. Soldier, Teacher, and a Terrifying Happiness (1852-1862)3. War and Peace (1862-1869)4. Anna Karenina and A Confession (1869-1880)5. A Soul Divided (1880-1890)6. A Taste For Public Action (1890-1901)7. Flight (1901-1910)Epilogue: Yasnaya Polyana after Leo Tolstoy.