Leo Tolstoy

This profile celebrates the life and works of Leo Tolstoy. All works listed here are in the public domain. This profile is maintained by Wattpad Ambassadors.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; 9 September [O.S. 28 August] 1828 - 20 November [O.S. 7 November] 1910), also known as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. 

Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, he is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856), and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. 

Tolstoy's fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays.