This panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society, noted for its mastery of realistic detail and variety of psychological analysis, is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels.
The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature:
Epic historical novel by Leo Tolstoy, originally published as
Voyna i mir in 1865-69. This panoramic study of early 19th-century
Russian society, noted for its mastery of realistic detail and variety
of psychological analysis, is generally regarded as one of the world's
greatest novels. War and Peace is primarily concerned with the
histories of five aristocratic families--particularly the Bezukhovs,
the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs--the members of which are portrayed
against a vivid background of Russian social life during the war
against Napoleon (1805-14). The theme of war, however, is subordinate
to the story of family existence, which involves Tolstoy's optimistic
belief in the life-asserting pattern of human existence. The heroine,
Natasha Rostova, for example, reaches
her greatest fulfillment through her marriage to Pierre Bezukhov and
her motherhood. The novel also sets forth a theory of history,
concluding that there is a minimum of free choice; all is ruled by an
inexorable historical determinism.
Ingram:
Details the invasion of Russia by Napoleon and his army.
