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Natalya Rostova
Countess Natalya "Natasha" Ilyinichna Rostova (; , named Natasha Rostov in the Rosemary Edmonds version; born 1792, according to the book) is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. She is the beautiful daughter of Ilya Rostov, a loving, kind, and generous nobleman. Natasha is based on both Tanya Behrs, Tolstoy's sister-in-law, and Sophia Tolstaya (née Behrs), Tolstoy's wife. Biography At the start of the novel in 1805, Natasha is a 13-year-old girl, the daughter of Count Ilya Rostov and Countess Natalya Rostova. She has fallen in love with young Prince Boris Drubetskoy, who lives with his mother Anna Mikhaylovna in the Rostov estate. She becomes close friends with Count Pierre Bezukhov, who frequently visits the Rostovs. When Boris leaves to pursue a career in the staff of General Mikhail Kutuzov, their friendship fades. At her first ball, Pierre introduces her to Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. They fall in love and become engaged, but Andrei's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War And Peace
''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An early version was published serially beginning in 1865, after which the entire book was rewritten and published in 1869. It is regarded, with '' Anna Karenina'', as Tolstoy's finest literary achievement, and it remains an internationally praised classic of world literature. The book chronicles the French invasion of Russia and its aftermath during the Napoleonic era. It uses five interlocking narratives following different Russian aristocratic families to illustrate Napoleon's impact on Tsarist society. Portions of an earlier version, titled ''The Year 1805'', were serialized in '' The Russian Messenger'' from 1865 to 1867 before the novel was published in its entirety in 1869.Knowles, A. V. ''Leo Tolstoy'', Routledge 1997. Tolstoy sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonya Rostova
Sofya Alexandrovna "Sonya" (; ) is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'', and in Sergey Prokofiev's 1955 opera ''War and Peace'' and Dave Malloy's 2012 musical '' Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812'' based on it. She is the orphaned niece of Count and Countess Rostov. Although sometimes called ''Sonya Rostova'', it is not clear if that is her surname or not; the novel does not say. ''Alexandrovna'' is a patronymic. Biography At the start of the novel, 15-year-old Sonya is in love with her cousin, Nikolai Rostov Count Nikolai Ilyich Rostov () is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. Count Nikolai is the brother of Vera Rostova, Natasha Rostova and Petya Rostov. At the start of the novel, Nikolai is aged 20 and a university student ..., who initially reciprocates her feelings. Sonya has no independent means of support and Nikolai's mother opposes the match; she and Nikolai swear eternal love before he leaves to fight in the war. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War And Peace (1956 Film)
''War and Peace'' () is a 1956 epic historical drama film based on Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel of the same name. It is directed and co-written by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti for Paramount Pictures. The film stars Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, Henry Fonda as Pierre, and Mel Ferrer as Andrei, along with Vittorio Gassman, Herbert Lom, Oskar Homolka, Anita Ekberg in one of her first breakthrough roles, Helmut Dantine, Barry Jones, Anna Maria Ferrero, Milly Vitale and Jeremy Brett. The musical score was composed by Nino Rota and conducted by Franco Ferrara. ''War and Peace'' opened on August 21, 1956, to a mixed reception, with some reviewers critical with the film truncating much of Tolstoy's novel, and the casting of 50-year-old Henry Fonda as the 20-year-old Pierre Bezukhov. It received Academy Awards nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography (Color), and Best Costume Design (Color). It was also nominated for four Golden G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, humane, and sympathetic depiction of contemporary social issues. Considered an director, Vidor approached multiple genres and allowed the subject matter to determine the style, often pressing the limits of film-making conventions. His most acclaimed and successful film in the silent era was ''The Big Parade'' (1925). Vidor's sound films of the 1940s and early 1950s arguably represent his richest output. Among his finest works are ''Northwest Passage (film), Northwest Passage'' (1940), ''Comrade X'' (1940), ''An American Romance'' (1944), and ''Duel in the Sun (film), Duel in the Sun'' (1946). His dramatic depictions of the American western landscape endow nature with a sinister force where his characters struggle for survival and redempt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents within the city limits, over 19.1 million residents in the urban area, and over 21.5 million residents in Moscow metropolitan area, its metropolitan area. The city covers an area of , while the urban area covers , and the metropolitan area covers over . Moscow is among the world's List of largest cities, largest cities, being the List of European cities by population within city limits, most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest List of urban areas in Europe, urban and List of metropolitan areas in Europe, metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent. First documented in 1147, Moscow became the capital of the Grand Principality of Moscow, which led the unification of the Russian lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleon I Of France
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career of Napoleon, a series of military campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He led the French First Republic, French Republic as French Consulate, First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then ruled the First French Empire, French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815. He was King of Italy, King of Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Italy from 1805 to 1814 and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine from 1806 to 1813. Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatole Kuragin
Anatole Vasilyevich Kuragin () is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'', its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well. Description Anatole is Hélène Kuragina's wild-living brother and a soldier, although he is rarely seen out of Russia in the book. It is rumoured that he has had an incestuous affair with his sister, and he tries to elope with Natasha Rostova despite being secretly married to a Polish woman during his time in the army. Later in the book, he gets his leg amputated at the Battle of Borodino, where he is treated next to Andrei Bolkonsky, Rostova's former betrothed. Development While developing the novel, Tolstoy sketched a character named "Petr", "who passed through a complex evolution" and "was a precursor of both Pierre and Anatole Kuragin". Anatoly Shostak served as the real life inspiration for the fictional Anatole. Reception Esther Polianowsky Salaman writes that what "is so interesting about Anato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrei Bolkonsky
Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky () is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. He is the son of famed Russian general Nikolai Bolkonsky, who raises Andrei and his sister Maria Bolkonskaya on a remote estate. Andrei is best friends with Pierre Bezukhov. Possible prototype He is possibly based on Tolstoy's cousin Prince Sergey Volkonsky, who was a hero of the Napoleonic Wars and later a Decembrist. However, author Laura Jepsen's view is that unlike "many of the other characters for whom the author found living prototypes, Prince Andrei is entirely fictitious".Laura Jepsen, "Prince Andrey as Epic Hero in Tolstoy's ''War and Peace''," ''South Atlantic Bulletin'' 34.4 (Nov., 1969)5 Life and death At the beginning of the novel, the handsome and intellectual Andrei, disillusioned with married life and finding his wife preoccupied with trivialities, becomes an officer in the Third Coalition against his idol, Napoleon Bonaparte. When he goes to war, he le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul I and Alexander I. Kutuzov was shot in the head twice while fighting the Turks (1774 and 1788) and survived the serious injuries seemingly against all odds. He defeated Napoleon as commander-in-chief using attrition warfare in the Patriotic war of 1812. Alexander I, the incumbent Tsar during Napoleon's invasion, would write that he would be remembered amongst Europe's most famous commanders and that Russia would never forget his worthiness. Early career Youth Mikhail Kutuzov was born in Saint Petersburg on 16 September 1745. His father, Lieutenant-General (1717–1784), had served for 30 years with the Corps of Engineers, had seen action against the Turks and served under Peter the Great. His mother was Anna Illarionovna Beklemishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophia Tolstaya
Countess Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (, (); – 4 November 1919), sometimes anglicised as Sofia Tolstoy, Sophia Tolstoy and Sonya Tolstoy, was a Russian diarist, and the wife of writer Count Leo Tolstoy. Biography Sophia Behrs was one of three daughters of a Baltic-German, Andrey Evstafievich Behrs (1808–1868), Imperial court physician, and his Russian wife, Liubov Alexandrovna Islavinа (1826–1886). Her maternal great-grandfather, Count Pyotr Zavadovsky, was the first Minister of education in Russia's history. Sophia had been acquainted with her future husband, Leo Tolstoy, from childhood; he was 16 years her senior and had befriended her mother when he was a boy. On 17 September 1862, when Sophia was 18 years old, the couple became formally engaged after Tolstoy gave Sophia a written proposal of marriage, marrying a week later in Moscow. At the time of their marriage, Leo Tolstoy was well known as a novelist following the publication of '' The Cossacks''. On the eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning 'new'. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, Medieval Chivalric romance, and the tradition of the Italian Renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, in the historical romances of Walter Scott and the Gothic novel. Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, and John Cowper Powys, preferred the term ''romance''. Such romances should not be con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
