War and Peace Resources

So you don't have to type out long quotations. This is the Maude & Maude translation.

PBS's Masterpiece Theatre website provides a brief biography of Tolstoy and an interactive timeline of his life.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the who, what, where, when, and how of the Battle of Borodino. (Check out the pictures of Kutuzov, for instance, or see the strategy of the armies' movements).

Oprah gives some suggestions on how to get through this monster of a book.

PBS's site on Napoleon. Learn about his campaigns, what life was like as a soldier, and even play a battle simulator game.

A brief biography of Nikolai Rostov's hero.

Cons: leaves out most of the war stuff and pretty much just focuses on Natasha, Pierre, and Andrei. Pros: well, it's got Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, so that's something.

Still the definitive movie version of this book, although it takes almost as long to watch as the book does to read. (Well, not quite.)

With Anthony Hopkins as Pierre.

What? Natasha is blonde?

1871 New York Times article about Tolstoy's works.

The real deal.

A BBC article about Napoleon's campaign into Russia, plus cool archeological findings surrounding the campaign.

A video brought to you by Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

This is the film version that stars Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda.

A promo trailer for the 2007 miniseries.

Looks like you can watch the entire film on YouTube. Who knows, though, this vid might not last… (Includes English subtitles.)

An interview with translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. (Shmoop used their translation.)

War and Peace focuses so much on family life that it's interesting to learn about Tolstoy's rocky relationship with his wife, Sonya (Sophia). Listen to an NPR radio tidbit on the topic here. Also, be sure to check out the excerpts from Tolstoy and Sonya's diaries. 

An online gallery from the University of Toronto. Includes sections like "Tolstoy in Cinema" and "Tolstoy in Contemporary Visual Arts."

Click through a bunch of photos of Tolstoy, brought to you by the University of Toronto.

The emperor of Russia, Nikolai's hero.

The emperor or France, who got his butt kicked in Russia.

Check out this painting of the Russian general.

Somehow we expected him to look different than this. He's not all plump and pasty like Kutuzov.

The painting of Napoleon's son that they bring him just before the Battle of Borodino.

An 1843 painting attempting to depict the battle.

A painting of Napoleon retreating from a burning Moscow.

Check out maps of the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Borodino.