Powerful Novels

Leo Tolstoy became one of Russia’s most celebrated authors through enormous novels that explored war, family, society, and human relationships. This passage follows his childhood on the Yasnaya Polyana estate, his unfinished university studies, and his eventual decision to become a writer after serving in the Russian army. Students learn about War and Peace, which follows characters during the Napoleonic Wars, and Anna Karenina, which examines the complicated lives and struggles of people in Russian society.

This worksheet gives students practice identifying major events and connecting Tolstoy’s experiences and beliefs with his writing. Readers examine how his ideas changed over time as he became increasingly interested in simplicity, kindness, education, and nonviolence. The passage also introduces Tolstoy’s efforts to help others, including starting schools for poor children, allowing students to explore how an author’s influence can extend far beyond the books he writes.