War and Peace Summary, Author at Allison & Busby

War and Peace: A Summary (The Epilogues)

19 May, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… The Epilogues Well, my Tolstoyan brethren, it has taken three months of reading and five months of blogging. But now, at last, the inkwell has run dry, the poor paper-merchant is made redundant, and Mrs Tolstoy’s pleas for attention may finally be satisfied: for it […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Books Thirteen to Fifteen)

5 May, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Books Thirteen to Fifteen The French are in Moscow and the Russians are without, vacillating between activity and lethargy, apparently on the brink of disintegration, suddenly propelling themselves uncompelled into attacks on the invaders. Kutusov is not a happy pensioner. His commanders delay when they […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Books Eleven & Twelve, Part II)

28 April, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Books Eleven & Twelve, Part II Last week, as you may recall, another one of our gallant heroes snuffed it. The ranks of our epic are thinning, and the survivors are bunching together for protection. Before Prince Andrei had the decency to succumb to his […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Books Eleven & Twelve, Part 1)

21 April, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Books Eleven & Twelve (Part 1) Having thrashed the French at the Battle of the Borodino, the Russian army sportingly decides to retreat, and now finds itself at the beginning of book 11 with its back pressed hard against the shuddering walls of Moscow. Quite […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Ten)

7 April, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Ten Summer, 1812. As the French army advances like an unstoppable steam roller across Russia, it is clear that Napoleon means business. At least that is clear to any reasonable creature, but not, inevitably, to that cantankerous old troublemaker Prince Bolkonski, who refuses to […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Nine)

31 March, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Nine It is Book Nine, and we have reached, in this summary exercise, the halfway point of War and Peace. It is also now, and will till the end remain, 1812: a pivotal year for European history, and, it transpires, this novel. For henceforward […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Eight)

24 March, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Eight We finished Book Seven with Sonya blissfully enraptured with a fiancé by her side, and Natasha desperately pining for a fiancé many miles away, having a whale of a time in the Swiss Alps. But in Book Eight it soon transpires that Natasha, […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Seven)

17 March, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Seven If Tolstoy had ever written a brochure for the Russian tourist board, book seven would surely be it. Called home to help sort out his family’s dire financial problems (don’t be deceived by their owning several houses, thousands of serfs and, thanks to […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Six)

10 March, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Six In Book Five, as you studious little blog-followers no doubt remember, quite a lot of good ink was spilt telling the tale of how Pierre sought to pull himself out of the mire adulterous Helene had sunk him in. Well, you’ll be happy […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Five)

24 February, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Five (A time for slow reflection) Being the observant little pumpkin that he was, Tolstoy could not help but notice the tendency of couples rendered asunder to recover from their sundering in very different ways. We consequently have Helene, abandoned by chubby hubby Pierre […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Four)

17 February, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Four In Book Four, it is 1806, and Tolstoy’s military menfolk return from their thrashing by Bonaparte at Austerlitz to a hero’s welcome (no severe denial syndrome there), and soon find themselves thrown into a whole heap of troubles, poor darlings. Pierre’s new bride […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Three)

10 February, 2011

My summary of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy continues… Book Three As Book Three opens in 1805 (yes, still), we wade deeper into war. But more important than all the trumpeting and strategizing and sauntering is a certain revelation: a clue as to why weepy Sonya is having so little success in winning Nicky’s […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book Two)

27 January, 2011

And so we continue now with my précis of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. BOOK TWO Peace shifts to War in Book Two, and so there is much parading of troops and inspections by generals, and many assurances that the Russian troops are not only confident in their ability to defeat the enemy, but […]

War and Peace: A Summary (Book One)

20 January, 2011

Following my public declaration that I would read the epic tome War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy and summarise it for others in our blog, here is proof that I have not given up on my 2011 resolution (yet) and proudly present you with the first installment: BOOK ONE It is 1805, and to the […]

The Blogging of War and Peace

7 January, 2011

Resolution the First, MMXI. Friends, blog-readers, gluttons for punishment; I wish to publicly declare my New Year’s resolution, in the hope that fear of the shame of openly admitting to failure will prevent me from ever breaking this resolution, as all my previous ones have been. I do therefore solemnly swear by all that I […]