War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace is Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece — an epic novel of Russian society in the early 19th century. The war with Napoleon-led France is the backdrop to personal stories of members from four aristocratic families: the Bezuhovs, Bolkonskys, Kuragins, and Rostovs. Love, death, war, spiritual struggle, and financial loss bring personal growth for the characters and underscore the main theme: the search for the meaning of life.
What is the setting of the opening of War and Peace, in which we are introduced to the “enchanted circle” of Petersburg society?
