An impressive compendium of fact and informed opinion concerning the most celebrated fictional work of Leo Tolstoy's later period. Setting itself the task of providing serious readers the background needed to place this work appropriately in the context of Tolstoy's career as a whole - historically, biographically, and intellectually - this collection brings together critical essays by five well-known literary specialists. This volume contains papers on the symbolism of the novel by Rimgaila Salys and on its central thematic concerns by George Gutsche. The collection is rounded out by Philip Rogers' exemplary discussion of the novel from the point of view of the comparatist.