Short Masterpieces by Leo Tolstoy

Best known for his lengthy classics, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy also wrote shorter novels and stories of similar depth and power. Among these masterpieces on a smaller scale, we’ll read and discuss: The Cossacks, “Master and Man,” The Death of Ivan Illych, Hadji Murad, A Prisoner in the Caucasus, as well as brief moralistic tales such as “God Sees the Truth But Waits,” “The Three Hermits,” and “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” 

Required Readings: All the readings for this course are available for free download on Gutenberg.org. For printed texts, recommended texts are: Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, publisher, 978-0060586973, and Leo Tolstoy, Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales, Orbis Books, 978-1570754609.

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​George Young earned a B.A. in English from Duke, and a Ph.D.in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale. He has taught Russian, Comparative Literature, and General Humanities at Grinnell, Dartmouth, University of New England, and in retirement at OLLI and MSC.  He and his wife, Patricia, enjoy the rich cultural and outdoor activities available in Brunswick.