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Sign up todayWar and Peace
Narrator
Frederick Davidson
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Translator
Constance Garnett
Length
61 hours 3 minutes
Language
English
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once a historical war epic, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit.
Noted for its mastery of realistic detail and psychological analysis, War and Peace follows the metamorphosis of five aristocratic families against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Individual stories interweave as each of Tolstoy’s memorable characters seek fulfillment, fall in love, make mistakes, and become scarred by war in different ways.
Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual’s place in the historical process.
Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers: “To be played upon by the animal keenness of this eye, the sheer power of this creative attack, the entirely clear and true greatness…of this epic, is to find one’s way home…to everything within us that is fundamental and sane.”
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was born in Russia. His parents, who died when he was young, were of noble birth. He served in the army in the Caucasus and Crimea, where he wrote his first stories. He is especially known for his masterpieces, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005) was born in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He performed in BBC radio plays before coming to America in 1976. The narrator of more than eight hundred audiobooks, he garnered numerous Earphones Awards and a Grammy nomination for his readings. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 1997.
Constance Garnett (1862–1946) translated the works of numerous Russian authors, including Tolstoy, Gogol, Pushkin, and Turgenev.
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Reviews
“There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?”
“If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy.”
“[A] complex plot, vivid characters, and profound insights into war and the nature of power.”
“There will not be a better recording of Tolstoy’s masterpiece for some time…The impressive dialog sparkles with humor and wit, and the vivid scenes of battle are riveting…Davidson’s exquisite narration heightens the perfection of this novel, regarded as one of the greatest in literature.”
"[War and Peace] felt so specific to the world of Tolstoy’s creation but also to right now. What is living in the United States in 2020 but a society of people trying to disregard what is painful until it comes, in favor of thinking about what is pleasant?”
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