Count **Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy** (Russian: **Лев Николаевич Толстой**, 9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910), usually referred to in English as **Leo Tolstoy**, was a Russian writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time. Tolstoy's notable works include the novels *War and Peace* (1869) and *Anna Karenina* (1878), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction, and two of the greatest books of all time.
Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Ann...
