The Last Days of Tolstoy

A close contemporary account reconstructs the final months of Leo Tolstoy's life, tracing the domestic, ethical, and legal strains that led him to leave his country estate. It examines his effort to reconcile personal wealth with moral convictions, disputes with his wife over property and literary copyright, repeated attempts at respite, progressive physical decline, and episodes of intense spiritual anguish recorded in letters, diaries, and witness statements. Interspersed reflections assess public reaction and common misrepresentations, while the narrator defends the author's motives and frames his departure as a deliberate, conscientious response to intolerable personal and familial contradictions.