Ernest Joseph Simmons

"Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was the author of such classics as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In mid-life, however, he underwent a deep moral and spiritual crisis that led him back to the gospels in an effort to conform his life to the spirit of Christ. This volume focuses on his "spiritual writings"--Autobiographical reflections on his journey of faith, commentaries on the gospels, and essays, on the essence of Christianity."--Jacket.

This book -- consisting in large measure of a selection of material from my published works -- attempts to describe and discuss all those writings of Tolstoy which appear to have enduring significance. With few exceptions, they are works that have been translated into English. His fiction and plays have been considered with some regard for chronological order in an effort to trace Tolstoy's development as a creative artist. But I have also included treatments of major non-literary works in order to show his concurrent development as a thinker and reformer in such diverse fields as education, religious thought, aesthetics, and social, political, and moral problems. The book is not intended for scholarly specialists on Tolstoy, though they might gain some insights here and there from its pages, nor does it pretend to offer studies in higher criticism of his famous novels. The effort is what its title indicates -- an introduction to the writings of Tolstoy for those readers who wish initially to find their way among his voluminous works. - Preface.

Articles originally written for the Encyclopedia Americana for the section on Russia and the U.S.S.R.