19世紀ロシアを代表する文豪、レフ・ニコラエヴィチ・トルストイ（1828-1910年）。文学史上最高の作品としてしばしば挙げられる『戦争と平和』や『アンナ・カレーニナ』のような文学だけでなく、国家権力やロシア正教会を厳しく批判する論文なども数多く執筆しています。本書では時を経て愛され続ける主な文学作品を中心に、思想や評論などの著述も検討し、トルストイ作品の根幹を成すテーマに迫ります。また、その作品が今日の文学に及ぼし続ける影響についても浮き彫りにします。(cf. War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics); Anna Karenina (Oxford World's Classics) ほか）
   

• Introduces the life and work of Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest novelists ever to have lived
• Explores Tolstoy's celebrated novels and nonfiction writings to reveal the core themes and thought at the heart of his work
• Considers Tolstoy's different roles as a writer, thinker, and activist
• Traces the influence of Tolstoy's work on modern literature, and highlights those aspects of his work that are still relevant today
• Addresses the eternal questions of love, death, war, peace, faith, and activism found in Tolstoy's writings

　　
War and Peace and Anna Karenina are widely recognised as two of the greatest novels ever written. Their author, Leo Tolstoy, has been honoured as the father of the modern war story; as an innovator in psychological prose and forerunner of stream of consciousness; and as a genius at using fiction to reveal the mysteries of love and death. At the time of his death in 1910, Tolstoy was known the world over as both a great writer and as a merciless critic of institutions that perpetrated, bred, or tolerated injustice and violence in any form. 
　　
Yet among literary critics and rival writers, it has become a commonplace to disparage Tolstoy's " In this Very Short Intorduction Liza Knapp explores the heart of Tolstoy's work. Focussing on his masterpieces of fiction which have stood the test of time, she analyses his works of non-fiction alongside them, and sketches out the core themes in Tolstoy's art and thought, and the interplay between them. Tracing the continuing influence of Tolstoy's work on modern literature, Knapp highlights those aspects of his writings that remain relevant today.