Twenty-Three Tales
by Leo Tolstoy
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- tales written 1872-1906, collected 1906
- Form
- Romance and tale
- Language
- Russian
- Length
- Medium · 300 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Approachable1 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendTwenty-Three Tales, translated by Louise and Aylmer MaudeOxford University Press, 1906The collection as the Maudes assembled it with Tolstoy's approval; long out of copyright and easy to find online or in reprint.
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The Maudes' collection of Tolstoy's short tales, most written for peasant readers in the 1880s. It gathers the stories for children from his primer, the folk-style parables such as What Men Live By, Where Love Is God Is, and How Much Land Does a Man Need, the Ivan the Fool tale, and later pieces including Alyosha the Pot. The tales are plain in language and turn on charity, humility, the vanity of wealth and the presence of God in ordinary life.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Twenty-Three Tales are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
