'Conveys Tolstoy to me more vividly that any biography I have ever read . at every stage of Tolstoy's life we feel ourselves in a gigantic presence . Bartlett never seems hurried and she gives herself time to paint the scene for us, bringing the scent of Russian earth and grass to the nostrils' A.N.Wilson, Financial Times'A highly accessible and intelligent account of Russia's history, society and culture from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, a bonus throughout is Bartlett's pleasant, unimposing style'Mary Dejevsky, Independent'Engaging . Bartlett reminds us not only that the great man is not so very long dead, but also that his myth is being made and remade even now'Claire Messaud, Daily Telegraph'A splendid book - immensely readable, full of fresh details, and often quite brilliant in its perceptiveness about the greatest of Russian writers'Jay Parini, author of The Last Station LONGLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION.