Leo Tolstoy: Difference between revisions

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Count '''Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy''' (1828–1910), also known as '''Leo Tolstoy''', was a Russian writer, philosopher and political thinker who primarily wrote [[novel]]s and [[short story|short stories]]. Tolstoy was a master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the world's greatest novelists. He is best known for two long novels, ''[[War and Peace]]'' (1869) and ''[[Anna Karenina]]'' (1877). Tolstoy first achieved literary acclaim in his 20s with his semi-autobiographical trilogy of novels, ''[[Childhood]]'', ''[[Boyhood]]'', and ''[[Youth]]'' (1852–1856) and ''[[Sevastopol Sketches]]'' (1855), based on his experiences in the [[Crimean War]]. His fiction output also includes two additional novels, dozens of short stories, and several famous novellas, including ''[[The Death of Ivan Ilych]]'', ''[[Family Happiness]]'', and ''[[Hadji Murad]]''. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.