In his book, Literary Lives, Edward Sorel introduces us to the strange and often unbelievable lives of some famous and beloved literary giants.
In this fun and playful book, Sorel draws caricatures to present some unsavory details about Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust, Ayn Rand, Jean-Paul Sartre, W.B. Yeats, and more.
Check out the book here.
What we learn about Leo Tolstoy is that he was rather self-indulgent for much of his early life. When he finally decided to settle down and marry, he insisted that his 18 year old bride-to-be, Sofia Andreyevna, read his personal diary. She should know more about the man she was going to marry.
Sofia continues with the marriage even after learning about Leo’s distasteful past.
He is engaged to Sofia Andreyevna, 18, but insists she read his diaries before they marry. From them she learns he has lied, robbed, murdered, fathered a bastard son, and – worse – sold much of his estate to cover his gambling debts.
However, neither one of them seems to be happy in the marriage. Sofia even talks about killing Leo in her diary.
In their first twelve years she delivers eight children and he produces War and Peace, and Anna Karenina. Each keeps a diary detailing the unforgivable behavior of the other.
After the success of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy is a wealthy man. One would think this would please him, but he is deeply upset by his riches and even becomes depressed. He vows to write only religious works and lead a life of celibacy.
He is unsuccessful with the latter goal and Sofia becomes pregnant for the 13th time.
Check out 2 of Tolstoy’s masterpieces below.
In Literary Lives, Edward Sorel also writes about Jean-Paul Sartre’s colorful love-life and his relationship with Simone de Beauvoir. Read about that here.
Leave a Reply