Leo Tolstoy: the centenary of his death

“People have so much love for Lev Nikolaevich, and so little understanding of him”

(Sofia Andreevna Tolstaia, Diaries)

Leo Tolstoy is regarded world-wide as one of the greatest writers of all time. One hundred years ago, on 20 [O.S. 7] November 1910, he died at the age of 82 at Astapovo, a remote railway station in Central Russia. Three weeks earlier he had fled from his country estate in Yasnaia Poliana in a final attempt to live in keeping with his principles and beliefs.

Not surprisingly, the British Library holds a good deal of material on Tolstoy: from manuscript material related to his life and works to the latest editions and translations of his novels; from photographs to the core monographs on him; from the score of a waltz composed by Tolstoy to audio books and recordings of theatre performances based on his plays and novels.

These pages mark the centenary of Tolstoy’s death, to help researchers and everyone interested in his life and works to navigate through the British Library’s vast collections:

The Kreutzer Sonata by L. Tolstoy: the story behind a story

Tolstoy and music

Musical adaptations of Tolstoy's works: recordings

Musical adaptations of Tolstoy's works: scores

Rare editions of Tolstoy's works and their illustrators

Tolstoy and the spoken word

British, Irish and American visitors in Yasnaia Poliana