This podcast has made it through a commentary on the first ten chapters of War & Peace. It has compiled literally dozens of views - okay, my attempts at humor can be self-effacing.

There are over 360 chapters in this book (and chapter can differ by the version you are picking up). Nevertheless, every three and a half chapters will amount to 1% of the book. Covering 10 chapters indicates just over 3% of the novel has been discussed, so completion of this project can be expected………much further than I would like to imagine.

It is no overestimate to say classic literature is under-appreciated, even this classic of classics. Often not appreciated is that War & Peace centers on Napoleon and the lead-up to his June 1812 invasion of Russia. The connections between Russia and the French of also unexplored, as the aristocracy of Russia generally spoke French to one another (though it was a relatively crude form) and the Russian language was more popular among the peasantry. Ukrainian was also spoken among farmers and serfs of that geographical area and also among the free Cossacks of Zaporizhia.   

Tolstoy used his characters and families to symbolize the struggle in the War of 1812. Some of these were introduced early; including two of the great characters of literature -- Pierre Bezukhov and Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky.

The novel was written a bit over half a century from period depicted, and Tolstoy’s perspective was from his own class, as a member of the aristocracy.  Tolstoy was a Count (meaning from nobility or having a rank in government service) and the book contains various personages of rank – especially counts, princes and princess, titles used quite liberally. The title of County was introduced to Russian by Peter the Great.

This episode reviews the first ten chapters in about 15 minutes.