Epic novel relating the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic era, via the lives of five aristocratic families.
The “first version” (1865) issued under the title “1805” had an attractively happy ending. The “second version” (completed 1869) under the title “War and Peace,” did not.
There are other significant diversions between the two versions. Both versions have been widely translated and disseminated, to add some confusion to the iconic work.
Both works were originally written in Tolstoy’s native Russian, with some narratives in French.
Tolstoy’s other iconic opus, the more classic European–style novel “Anna Karenina,” would follow in 1877.