This collection of essays was first published in 1978. They commemorate the 150th anniversary of Tolstoy's birth in 1828. The range in subject matter is great and includes a reconsideration of the problems of translating Tolstoy into English, fresh approaches to his major fiction (War and Peace and Anna Karenina), a study of an underrated later work (Hadji Murat) and reassessments of Tolstoy as a thinker. The final essay records an attempt to establish a 'Tolstoyan' colony at Purleigh during Tolstoy's own lifetime. There is also a bibliographical survey of British work on Tolstoy up until the 1970s. The whole collection was conceived as a specifically British contribution to the 150th anniversary celebrations. The book is illustrated with a number of little-known photographs of Tolstoy.
