Each volume provides discussions of the literary and historical background of novels from various cultures and time periods. Includes concise synopses of plot, characters and themes, a brief author biography, discussion of the story's cultural and historical significance, and excerpted criticism.

In Tolstoy's timeless epic of love and loss, a circle of aristocrats finds their glittering world crumbling as war threatens imperial Russia. Set during the years of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, War and Peace follows the changing fortunes of brooding hero Prince Andrej, his bookish friend Pierre, and the spirited but naive Natasha. As Napoleon's armies menace their privileged lives, the horrors of the battlefield reach into the elegant ballrooms...

A modern take on one of the most famous stories of all time. In 1805 when we first meet Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei, they are all part of St. Petersburg's glittering elite, but are fired up with youthful ambition to find meaning in their lives. As everything they thought they knew is questioned, Pierre, Andrei and Natasha find themselves in a time when Russian society is about to change forever.