War and Peace:: The Epilogues

War and Peace (1869) is a novel by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Serialized between 1865 and 1867, it was published in book form in 1869 and has since been recognized as a masterpiece of world literature. Notable for its epic scale, War and Peace encompasses hundreds of characters, diligently following its five central families across fifteen years while featuring detailed imaginings of such historical figures as Napoleon Bonaparte. In The Epilogues, Tolstoy draws his epic story to a heartwarming close while offering his theory on the philosophy of history. After so much death and destruction, Tolstoy finds solace in the sanctity of marriage and the effort of traumatized people to rebuild and reclaim their lives. As a new generation is born, hope is rekindled, but faint rumblings of unrest and conspiracy suggest that peace, once more, will be difficult to maintain. In the epilogue's second part, Tolstoy breaks from his narrative to offer his theory on the philosophy of history, condemnin