Books

New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co, 1889. Hardcover. Very Good. First authorized American edition, i.e. the first edition translated from the Russian, by Nathan Haskell Dole (there was an unauthorized 1886 translation from the French by Clara Bell). Three-page preface by Nathan Haskell Dole. Four volumes. v, 359, 392, 424, 408pp. Volume IV contains a chapter-by-chapter synopsis and a list of both places and characters. Finely diagonally-ribbed olive cloth with topedge gilt, paper spine labels, and the Russian coat of arms stamped on the cover in gilt. Extremities bumped and lightly rubbed, with several tiny tears at the spine ends, boards with a few faint stains, spine labels faded and worn, volume I title page with a small stain at the foredge, volume IV with a vertical crease in the rear board resulting in cracking of the rear pastedown, front gutter beginning to split, thus very good only. Very uncommon in this format.

War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published serially, then in its entirety in 1869. It is regarded as one of Tolstoy's finest literary achievements and remains a classic of world literature. The narrative chronicles the history of the French invasion of Russia through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families and reflects on the philosophical themes of war, peace, and the human condition.