by Leo Tolstoy
First published 2002
Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov sits in a courtroom, watching a woman he once seduced being tried for murder. Katerina Maslova, a prostitute, faces potential exile to Siberia for a crime she barely understands. Overwhelmed by guilt, Nekhlyudov decides to follow her through the labyrinthine Russian legal system, attempting to overturn her sentence and redeem his own past actions. As he navigates bureaucratic obstacles and confronts the stark inequalities of imperial Russian society, he risks his social standing and inheritance. Nekhlyudov's quest becomes more than a legal challenge—it's a personal transformation that will test the limits of individual moral responsibility.
Genres: classic-literature, historical-fiction, 19th-century, russian-literature
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, social-justice
Setting: Russia
Period: Napoleonic Era
562 pages · Hardcover · Replica Books