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Leo Tolstoy

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Books Written by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy is widely considered one of the greatest novelists in history, producing sprawling, morally serious epics that combine intimate psychological realism with vast historical and philosophical ambition. In his later years he underwent a profound spiritual crisis that led him to reject his own earlier fiction, embrace a radical form of Christian pacifism, and give away much of his wealth — a transformation that shaped both his later writing and his enormous influence on figures like Mahatma Gandhi.

War and Peace and Anna Karenina remain his two towering achievements and the natural starting points, while A Confession offers direct insight into the spiritual crisis that reshaped his later life and work.

By Lisanne Swart · 5 books · Russian Literature · Updated August 2026

Quick answer

Leo Tolstoy is best known for the epic novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877), along with the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and the spiritual memoir A Confession (1882). War and Peace or Anna Karenina are the natural starting points.

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01
Russian LiteratureStart here

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy · 1869

An epic following several aristocratic Russian families across the Napoleonic Wars, weaving intimate personal stories of love, ambition, and moral growth together with sweeping historical and philosophical reflection on the nature of history itself.

Often cited as one of the greatest novels ever written — its scope combines an enormous cast of vividly realized characters with Tolstoy’s own developing philosophy of history as driven by countless small individual choices rather than great leaders.

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02
Russian Literature

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy · 1877

A married Russian aristocrat’s affair with a cavalry officer leads to her social ruin and eventual tragedy, set against a parallel storyline following a landowner’s quieter, more successful pursuit of marriage and meaning.

Tolstoy’s most tightly constructed major novel, and often considered his technical masterpiece — the famous opening line about happy and unhappy families sets up one of literature’s most devastating studies of social hypocrisy and personal desire.

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03
Novella

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Leo Tolstoy · 1886

A dying bureaucrat confronts the emptiness of his conventional, status-driven life as his terminal illness forces him to see clearly for the first time what actually mattered.

One of the most influential novellas ever written about mortality and self-deception — a much shorter, more concentrated work than his sprawling epics, written after Tolstoy’s own spiritual crisis.

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04
Memoir · Philosophy

A Confession

Leo Tolstoy · 1882

Tolstoy’s account of the profound spiritual and existential crisis that struck him in his fifties, despite immense literary success and wealth, leading him to question the meaning of life itself and eventually toward a radical, unconventional Christian faith.

Essential for understanding the dramatic shift between Tolstoy’s earlier fiction and his later, more explicitly moral and philosophical writing — the direct account of the crisis that changed everything.

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05
Russian Literature

Resurrection

Leo Tolstoy · 1899

Tolstoy’s final novel follows a Russian nobleman who, serving on a jury, recognizes the defendant as a woman he seduced and abandoned years earlier, and sets out to seek redemption by following her into Siberian exile.

Written after Tolstoy’s spiritual conversion and reflects his later moral and religious preoccupations far more directly than his earlier epics — a sustained argument for repentance and radical Christian ethics.

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Watch: Tolstoy Remembered (1970 Documentary)

A documentary biography of Leo Tolstoy narrated by his own daughter, Alexandra Tolstoy, using literature and dramatization to trace his life and work.

Where to start with Leo Tolstoy

If you want his defining epic

War and Peace is often cited as one of the greatest novels ever written.

If you want his most tightly constructed novel

Anna Karenina is considered his technical masterpiece.

If you want to understand his later spiritual turn

A Confession directly explains the crisis that reshaped his later work.

Frequently asked questions about Leo Tolstoy’s books

How many books did Leo Tolstoy write?

Leo Tolstoy wrote several major novels, including War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1877), and Resurrection (1899), along with novellas, short stories, and philosophical and religious works. He died in 1910.

What is the best Leo Tolstoy book to start with?

War and Peace or Anna Karenina, depending on preference — War and Peace is his most epic and historically ambitious work, while Anna Karenina is more tightly focused and often considered his technical masterpiece.

Why did Leo Tolstoy reject his own earlier novels?

In his fifties, Tolstoy underwent a profound spiritual crisis, described directly in A Confession, that led him to question the meaning of his literary success and wealth, and to embrace a radical, unconventional form of Christian pacifism that shaped his later writing and life.

Written by Lisanne Swart

Lisanne curates books for curious readers at lisanneswart.com, publishing original reading lists, author deep-dives, and honest recommendations since 2021. Read more about Lisanne.

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