Leo Tolstoy

Count Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer, who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. Born to an aristocratic Russian family, he is best known for the novels Война и мир (War and Peace) (1869) and Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) (1877), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Детство (Childhood), Отрочество (Boyhood), and Юность (Youth) (1852–1856), and Севастопольские рассказы (Sevastopol Sketches) (1855), based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. Tolstoy's fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as Смерть Ивана Ильича (The Death of Ivan Ilyich), Семейное счастие (Family Happiness), and Хаджи-Мурат (Hadji Murad). He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. Real name: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой)