Book I

War and Peace is a massive, sprawling novel that chronicles events in Russiaduring the Napoleonic Wars, when the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte conquered much ofEurope during the first few years of the nineteenth century. Bonaparte unsuccessfully tried to expand his dominion intoRussia, only to be turned back in 1812. The novel opens in July of 1805, with Russiaallied with England, Austria, andSwedento stave off Bonaparte's aggressive expansion.

A member of a dissolute, upper-class crowd, Pierre Bezukhov is a troublemaker who criticizes governmental policies. At night he frequents drunken card parties with a fast crowd, including Anatole Kurgagin and Fedya Dolokhov, whom Tolstoy describes as "an officer and a desperado." Another member of the group, Prince Andrew, is a patriot who is determined to defend his country and aristocratic way of life. The novel soon introduces theRostov family as they prepare a celebration for their youngest daughter Natasha.

The...