Cover of War and Peace

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy, 1865

Russian novelist, 1828–1910.

War and Peace is an 1865 novel by Leo Tolstoy, translated from Russian.

In historical fiction, family saga

On 5 of the 10 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Leo Tolstoy
First published
1865
Length
1440 pages (UK paperback)
Original language
Translated from Russian
Genre
Historical fiction, War and conflict, Family saga, Philosophical

Is War and Peace worth reading?

5 of the 10 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian).

ListPlaceOriginal
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 6See the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 7See the list
The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003)No. 20See the list
The Great American Read (PBS, 2018)ListedSee the list

Best edition of War and Peace

The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2007), 1440 pages.

Publisher
Penguin Classics (paperback, 2007)
Pages
1440
ISBN
9780140447934

How critics and readers rate War and Peace

Readers and critics rate it about equally: it earned 57% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 53% on critics' lists.

Critics
53%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
57%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like War and Peace

If you liked War and Peace, try Anna Karenina, Wuthering Heights or Crime and Punishment.

Lists used on this page