War & Peace

"I'm not looking for 'War and Peace'" is a modern way of saying "keep it short". However, "I am looking for 'War and Peace'" should be on our lips. Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece is a complete semester of Russian and French history, using the zoom button to focus on its impact on families from the aristocracy to the peasants. 'War and Peace I' introduces the five aristocratic families at the heart of the plot. It paints a picture of petty jealousy, pride and forbidden love in the Russian stately homes and ends after the Battle of Austerlitz between Russia and France. If you like costume dramas and the novels of Jane Austen ('Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility'), this is the granddaddy of them all. The same goes for fans of Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' novels and TV series', starring Sean Bean. 'War and Peace' was made into a BBC TV series in 2016, written by Andrew Davies and starring Lily James and James Norton.

Have you taken a deep breath after the drama and conflict of volume one? It's time to dive into 'War and Peace II' - and it does not slow down. With Russia bruised by Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, Tolstoy goes for close-ups of the three main male characters, Pierre, Nikolai and Denisov. It is not entirely pretty. Amidst the backdrop of Tolstoy's philosophical discussions on life and death and the inevitability of war, the characters become embroiled in gambling debt, love triangles, intrigue and broken promises. There are more twists than Chubby Checker and more dramatic moments than in 'EastEnders'. Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece in four volumes is a complete semester of Russian and French history, using the zoom button to focus on its impact on families from the aristocracy to the peasants. It paints a picture of petty jealousy, pride and forbidden love in the Russian stately homes. If you like costume dramas and the novels of Jane Austen ('Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility'), this is the granddaddy of them all. The same goes for fans of Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' novels and TV series', starring Sean Bean. 'War and Peace' was made into a BBC TV series in 2016, written by Andrew Davies and starring Lily James and James Norton.

The third quarter of 'War and Peace' is where the rubber really hits the road (or the cannonballs hit the walls). The story centres on one of history's most famous periods, Napoleon's March on Moscow. The leading characters are involved in plotting Russia's tactics, fighting on the front - or guarding their estates against the expected overrunning by French soldiers. Tolstoy evocatively describes the futile slaughter of war, in some of literature's most dramatic chapters ever written. He also brings Napoleon to life as he arrows in on the famous general. At the end of the Battle of Borodino, two of the main characters are missing, presumed dead. It is a real cliffhanger for 'War and Peace IV'. Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece is a complete semester of Russian and French history, using the zoom button to focus on its impact on families from the aristocracy to the peasants. It paints a picture of petty jealousy, pride and forbidden love in the Russian stately homes. If you like costume dramas and the novels of Jane Austen ('Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility'), this is the granddaddy of them all. The same goes for fans of Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' novels and TV series', starring Sean Bean. 'War and Peace' was made into a BBC TV series in 2016, written by Andrew Davies and starring Lily James and James Norton.

Moscow is lost, occupied by Napoleon's French hordes. Is Russia lost? Is all lost? Students of history will already know the answer. But whether or not you do, Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace IV' is an extraordinary and epic telling of what happened next. Through the eyes of the Russian soldier-aristocrat Pierre, we see mercy and inhumanity behind the lines. He even embarks on a plot to assassinate Napoleon. Spoiler alert: he failed. On the home front, the strands are tied together with death, marriage and hope. But will there be a happy ending after 15 years and 1,000 pages? Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece is a complete semester of Russian and French history, using the zoom button to focus on its impact on families from the aristocracy to the peasants. It paints a picture of petty jealousy, pride and forbidden love in the Russian stately homes. If you like costume dramas and the novels of Jane Austen ('Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility'), this is the granddaddy of them all. The same goes for fans of Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' novels and TV series', starring Sean Bean. 'War and Peace' was made into a BBC TV series in 2016, written by Andrew Davies and starring Lily James and James Norton.