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Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography (2010)

by Alexandra Popoff(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

141659759X (ISBN13: 9781416597599)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Free Press

review 1: This book made me so sad. Of course, everyone reveres Tolstoy, the great author. I didn't know that he had charmed a virginal gem of a brilliant woman into marrying him, then used and abused her all of her life -- and like any person caught in the cycle of abuse, she kept going back to him. She sacrificed her career and her life for him, and without her, little of his best work would remain the the public realm. Read it, and you'll see how amazing she was, although the book seems to be repeating the same scenes over and over again as Leo takes advantage of his wife and leaves all of the mundane parts of life to her so that he can be the beloved writer. Was it love? Was she trapped by her choices and enraptured by his writing? Was she a victim of the times? What ... morecould she have become if she weren't tied to this man? An amazing read.
review 2: I've read a great deal about Tolstoy and his family, especially his troubled relationship with his wife, and this ongoing battle to be near the "Master" by his acolytes. He made his family's life a living hell with his egomania and poor decisions. I have special ordered on loan a copy of Countess Tolstoy's "My Life" which wasn't quite yet printed (and has been surpressed since it was written, leaving Sophia with black marks against her life as some controlling, vengeful creature who didn't honor her husband or his beliefs. Quite the contrary. She sacrificed her life for him. She did it ALL. And when you read of her life, from the time of her marriage at 16, and her wedding night rape in the carriage, the loss and bearing of so many children, the conflicts her husband brought into their lives, you wonder how she survived it with such dignity. I am glad that books are finally coming out about her, and setting history straight. I'm sure wherever she is, that it gladdens her heart as well. I can hear her saying "Finally." less

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