The Cossacks and other stories
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references.

"In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy travelled to the Caucasus and joined the army there as a cadet. The four years that followed were among the most significant in his life, and provided the material for the stories collected here. Begun in 1852 but unfinished for a decade, The Cossacks describes the experiences of Olenin, a young cultured Russian who comes to despise civilization after spending time with the wild Cossack people. Sevastopol Sketches, based on Tolstoy's own experiences of the siege of Sevastopol in 1854-55, is a description and consideration of the nature of war. In Hadji Murat, written towards the end of his life, Tolstoy returns to the Caucasus of his youth and portrays the fate of a great leader, torn apart and destroyed by a conflict of loyalties. This edition also includes notes and maps."--BOOK JACKET.

Translated from the Russian.