Leo Tolstoy: Flight from Paradise

Over a hundred years ago, something truly outrageous occurred at Yasnaya Polyana. Count Leo Tolstoy, a famous author aged eighty-two at the time, took off, destination unknown. Since then, the circumstances surrounding the writer’s whereabouts during his final days and his eventual death have given rise to many myths and legends. In this book, popular Russian writer and reporter Pavel Basinsky delves into the archives and presents his interpretation of the situation prior to Leo Tolstoy’s mysterious disappearance. Basinsky follows Leo Tolstoy throughout his life, right up to his final moments. Reconstructing the story from historical documents, he creates a visionary account of the events that led to the Tolstoys’ family drama.

Flight from Paradise will be of particular interest to international researchers studying Leo Tolstoy’s life and works, and is highly recommended to a broader audience worldwide.

Published with the support of the Institute for Literary Translation, Russia.