Peter the First

The work of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy is truly multifaceted: a master of science fiction prose, creator of the beloved fairy tale “The Golden Key”, author of the epic “Walking Through Torment” and numerous novellas, short stories and plays. The key theme that unites the variety of subjects in Tolstoy’s work turned out to be Russia. The novel “Peter the Great”, the best example of the genre of historical novel in Soviet literature, is also imbued with reflections on its purpose. Tolstoy carefully studied documentary sources, but said that “a historical novel cannot be written in the form of a chronicle.” At the center of the novel is the image of Peter I, the ruler of a huge country, who has a strong and persistent character and achieves the fulfillment of his decisions. In this edition, the text of the novel is accompanied by magnificent illustrations by Dementy Shmarinov.