Born in 1828 on his aristocratic family’s estate in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia, Leo Tolstoy remains one of the most revered writers in literary history. His younger years were marked by the loss of both of his parents; at 16, Tolstoy enrolled at Kazan University but dropped out after struggling academically. After trying and failing to hone his farming skills at his family’s estate, Tolstoy joined the army and served during the Crimean War. The violence took its toll on Tolstoy, and after the war he left the army to travel through Europe — all the while writing in his journal, something he would do throughout most of his life.

Tolstoy’s first published work was a fictionalized account of his life titled Childhood (1852). It was well received, and over the next few years he also wrote about his experiences at war. Eventually, settled back in Yasnaya Polyana with his own family, Tolstoy set to work on his defining novels: War and Peace (1867) and Anna Karenina (1878). Both were praised for their explorations of morals, ethics, and depictions of Russian society, as well as their clear and simple prose. Tolstoy’s later writings reflected his commitment to a simpler lifestyle, and his ideas around nonviolence influenced figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Tolstoy died in 1910 at age 82.