The Life of Tolstoy

What it is

This is a two-volume biography of Leo Tolstoy, written by Aylmer Maude and first published in 1911, shortly after Tolstoy's death. Maude was a close associate and translator of Tolstoy, and the book covers his early life and later years, including an account of his final illness.

Why it matters

Because Maude knew Tolstoy personally and translated his religious writings with his approval, the biography offers an unusually close view of Tolstoy's own self-understanding, including quoted letters where Tolstoy approved of Maude's presentation of his religious views. It is one of the earliest major biographies of the writer.

Look closer

• Why might a biography written by someone close to its subject be especially valuable, and also especially biased?
• What does it mean that Tolstoy himself reviewed and approved parts of the text before his death?
• What changed in the book after Tolstoy died?