Sofia Tolstaya’s Followers (43)

Sofia Tolstaya

Born

in Russian Federation

August 22, 1844

Died

November 04, 1919

Website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Tolstaya

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs

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Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (née Behrs) (Russian: Со́фья Андре́евна Толста́я, sometimes Anglicised as Sophia Tolstoy), was the wife of Russian novelist and thinker Leo Tolstoy. Sophia was one of 3 daughters of physician Andrey Behrs, and Liubov Alexandrovna Behrs.

Sophia was first introduced to Leo Tolstoy in 1862, when she was 18 years old. At 34, Tolstoy was 16 years her senior. On 17 September, 1862 the couple became formally engaged, marrying a week later in Moscow. At the time of their marriage, Leo Tolstoy was already well-known as a novelist after the publication of The Cossacks.

On the eve of their marriage, Tolstoy gave Sophia his diaries detailing his sexual relations with female serfs. In Anna Karenina, 34 year old Constantine Levin Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (née Behrs) (Russian: Со́фья Андре́евна Толста́я, sometimes Anglicised as Sophia Tolstoy), was the wife of Russian novelist and thinker Leo Tolstoy. Sophia was one of 3 daughters of physician Andrey Behrs, and Liubov Alexandrovna Behrs.

Sophia was first introduced to Leo Tolstoy in 1862, when she was 18 years old. At 34, Tolstoy was 16 years her senior. On 17 September, 1862 the couple became formally engaged, marrying a week later in Moscow. At the time of their marriage, Leo Tolstoy was already well-known as a novelist after the publication of The Cossacks.

On the eve of their marriage, Tolstoy gave Sophia his diaries detailing his sexual relations with female serfs. In Anna Karenina, 34 year old Constantine Levin, a semi-autobiographical character behaves similarly, asking his 19 year old fiancée Kitty to read his diaries and learn of his past transgressions.

The Tolstoys had 13 children, only 8 of which survived childhood. Tolstaya tried to convince her husband to use birth control but he refused. Fortunately, the family was prosperous, owing to Tolstoy's efficient management of his estates and to the sales of his works, making it possible to provide adequately for the increasing family.

Tolstoya was a devoted help to her husband in his literary work. She acted as copyist of War and Peace, copying the manuscript seven times from beginning to end.

In 1887, Tolstoya took up the relatively new art of photography. She took over a thousand photographs that documented her life, including with Tolstoy, and the decline of pre-Soviet Tsarist Russia.

She was also a diarist and documented her life with Leo Tolstoy in a series of diaries which have been published in English translation.

After many years of an increasingly troubled marriage - the couple argued over Tolstoy's desire to give away all his private property - Leo left Sophia abruptly in 1910, aged 81, with his doctor, Duchan Makovicki, and daughter Alexandra Tolstaya. Tolstoy died 10 days later in a railway station, whilst Sophia was kept away from him.

Following the death of her husband, Sophia continued to live in Yasnaya Polyana and survived the Russian Revolution in relative peace. She died in 1919. ...more

Combine Editions
Sofia Tolstaya’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 1,246 ratings · 212 reviews · 22 distinct works • Similar authors

	Amore colpevole 3.91 avg rating — 498 ratings — published 1893 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy: A Chronicle of Marriage to Leo Tolstoy and Turbulent Turn-of-the-Century Russia by Sofia Tolstaya, Cathy Porter (Translator), Doris Lessing (Introduction) 3.96 avg rating — 488 ratings — published 1984 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Romanza senza parole by Sofia Tolstaya, Tiziana Elsa Prina (Translator) 3.70 avg rating — 113 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Autobiography of Countess Tolstoy by Sofia Tolstaya, Leonard Woolf (Translator), S.S. Koteliansky (Translator) 3.39 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 1922 — 53 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Life by Sofia Tolstaya, Andrew Donskov (Editor), John Woodsworth (Translator) 3.92 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Мой муж Лев Толстой by Sofia Tolstaya, Софья Толстая 3.05 avg rating — 22 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tolstói Tolstáia by Sofia Tolstaya (Brand), Leo Tolstoy, Irineu Franco Perpétuo (tradutor) 4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Final Struggle: Being Countess Tolstoy's Diaries for 1910 by Sofia Tolstaya, Aylmer Maude (Translator) 3.71 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1980 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Diaries of Sophia Tolstoy by Sofia Tolstaya, Cathy Porter (Translator) 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Diary of Tolstoy's Wife, 1860-1891 by Sofia Tolstaya, Alexander Werth 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Sofia Tolstaya (?)

“I have served a genius for almost forty years. Hundreds of times I have felt my intellectual energy stir within me and all sorts of desires - a longing for education, a love of music and the arts… And time and again I have crushed and smothered these longings… Everyone asks, “But why should a worthless woman like you need an intellectual or artistic life?” To this question I can only reply: “I don’t know, but eternally suppressing it to serve a genius is a great misfortune".”
― Sophia Tolstoy

tags: oppression, patriarchy, tolstoy

22 likes

“... daca iubirea a pus stapanire pe om, atunci el o transpune in tot: in munca, in viata, in relatiile cu alti oameni, intr-o carte, transmitand in toate o asemenea energie si bucurie, ca ea devine atat motorul unui singur om, cat si al intregii lumi care-l inconjoara.”
― Sofia Tolstoy, The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy: A Chronicle of Marriage to Leo Tolstoy and Turbulent Turn-of-the-Century Russia

tags: love

3 likes

“إذا ما سيطر الحب على الإنسان، فإنه يظهره في كل شيء، في الأفعال وفي الحياة وفي العلاقات مع البشر الآخرين، وفي الكتاب، ويكسب كل شيء تلك الطاقة والبهجة، التي تمثل محركاً أكثر من إنسان، وفي جميع الوسط المحيط به.”
― Sofia Tolstaya, The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy: A Chronicle of Marriage to Leo Tolstoy and Turbulent Turn-of-the-Century Russia

0 likes

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Sofia Tolstaya’s Followers (43)

Sofia Tolstaya

Combine EditionsSofia Tolstaya’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Sofia Tolstaya’s books