Showing results by author "Leo Tolstoy" in All Categories

Banned in Russia, Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You was deemed a threat to church and state. The culmination of a lifetime's thought, it espouses a commitment to Jesus's message of turning the other cheek. In a bold and original treatise, Tolstoy shows his readers clearly why they must reject violence of any sort—even that sanctioned by the state or the church—and urges them to look within themselves to find the answers to questions of morality.

Beautiful and intelligent young Anna suffers in her loveless marriage, dreaming of the romantic life she should be living, and the love that others around her should be sharing honestly with one another. When she meets the dashing Vronsky he seems to offer everything she has been craving, but the cost she will pay is higher than she could have imagined. Meanwhile Konstantin Levin, a gentle landowner who shares Anna's belief in sincerity, attempts to channel his beliefs into his land, his family, and his love for beautiful aristocrat Kitty.

Leo Tolstoy: The Short Stories includes unabridged recordings of Leo Tolstoy's 5 greatest short stories in one audiobook.

"The Emperor’s Three Questions" is a parable of an emperor who seeks out a holy man for answers to questions he believes will help him to be a great ruler. Knowing that wisdom needs to be experienced, the holy man cannot just tell the emperor. The answers that unfold in the narrative will be better remembered.

Dostoyevsky & Tolstoy: The Major Novels, masterfully read by two Audie award-winning narrators - Jonathan Keeble and David Rintoul - includes unabridged recordings of four of the greatest novels of all time and the great authors' lasting masterpieces: The Brothers Karamazov; Crime and Punishment, WAr & Peace, and Anna Karenina. Translations by Constance Garnett and Aylmer & Louise Maude.

In My Religion, Leo Tolstoy accuses the church of hiding the true meaning of Jesus, which is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount and the call to resist evil. For Tolstoy, it is this command that has been most damaged by ecclesiastical interpretation. Tolstoy had not always been possessed of the religious ideas set forth in My Religion. For 35 years of his life, he was, in the proper acceptation of the word, a nihilist - not a revolutionary socialist but a man who believed in nothing.

Arguably the greatest literary masterpiece, War and Peace is an amazing blend of philosophy, history, spirituality, and love told through two families, the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys. The Rostovs personify the Russian spirit. Count Rostov, a generous, kind spendthrift, can deny his family nothing. His countess is a warm, loving, overindulged woman. These characteristics are reflected in their children, while the austere Bolkonskys are duty-bound.

At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon’s army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey, and impetuous Natasha interweave with a huge cast, from aristocrats and peasants, to soldiers and Napoleon himself.

When Marshal of the Nobility Pozdnyshev suspects his wife of having an affair with her music partner, his jealousy consumes him and drives him to murder. Controversial upon publication in 1890, The Kreutzer Sonata illuminates Tolstoy's then-feverish Christian ideals, his conflicts with lust and the hypocrisies of nineteenth-century marriage, and his thinking on the role of art and music in society.

First published in 1865 by The Russian Messenger, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is considered to be one of the longest novels ever written, although Tolstoy himself did not consider this book "a novel". Interspersed between narrative chapters concerning five aristocratic families are several philosophical and historical chapters against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, where Tolstoy weaves a tale of drama with characters that include statesmen and generals of that era, mixing domestic life, balls, and war councils into one epic story.

Leo Tolstoy & Charles Dickens: The Ultimate Collection brings together four major works of fiction from two of the greatest writers of the 1800s, as well as a one piece of their most renowned non-fiction. In this collection you'll hear Jonathan Keeble expertly narrating the grand epics of Anna Karenina and War & Peace, Stephen Fry narrating Great Expectations, Scrooge's ghostly journey narrated by Jason Isaacs, and other award-winning narrators bringing Tolstoy and Dickens' most beloved stories to life.

One of Tolstoy’s most important shorter works, The Kreutzer Sonata presents a problematic view of the relationship between the sexes and promotes abstinence as the solution. Pozdnyshev jealously observes the intimacy that emerges between his wife and a violin player. Haunted by The Kreutzer Sonata, over which they bonded, it plays round and round in Pozdnyshev’s head driving him to distraction and to an unquenchable rage.

This is a collection of stories about interesting, unusual, bright human characters and destinies. Contents: Gusev by Anton Chekhov ; Boule de Suif by Guy De Maupassant ; Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy ; Mateo Falcone by Prosper Mérimée ; Little Brother by Mary E. Mann ; Bartleby, The Scrivener by Herman Melville ; The Lightning-Rod Man by Herman Melville ; The Ambitious Guest by Nathaniel Hawthorne ; The Darling by Anton Chekhov ; A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert

One winter evening a shoemaker finds a mysterious stranger naked and freezing by a shrine in his small village. The shoemaker rescues the man, and takes him home. Though the stranger won’t say where he came from, Simon invites him to work beside him, and stay with his family. As the story unfolds, the stranger transforms, and ultimately reveals an astonishing and deeply moving secret. Late in Tolstoy’s life, after he had written his great masterpieces War and Peace, and Anna Karenina, he underwent a spiritual transformation.

Leo Tolstoy is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all novelists for such works as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. He also wrote a number of outstanding short stories. This is one of his best.

A selection of short stories for the holidays including classics from Hans Christian Andersen, Tolstoy and L. Frank Baum.

This audiobook contains a classic tale of army life from the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Set in the early 1800s, this short novel poignantly portrays the day-to-day lives of Hussars. Tolstoy expertly evokes the tensions between the values of one generation and the next.

This audiobook contains three works by Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). The most well-known of these, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, tells the story of the premature death of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia. It explores themes of life, death and suffering, as well as self-interest versus compassion.

After a year of marriage, Eugene Irtenev's wife, Liza, employs two peasant women. One of them is Stepanida, with whom Eugene had a passionate relationship prior to meeting Liza. Eugene notices Stepanida dancing, and their glances rekindle his desire. Tormented by lust, he thinks of resuming relations with her, but realizes that the affair would cause too much of a scandal.

Tolstoy brings to these brief tales the same psychological depth and spiritual insight found in his larger works. In fact, his short stories are an excellent place to begin reading this great author. In them, you will find the same challenging themes of morality, forgiveness, redemption and more.