Twenty-Three Tales

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Twenty-Three Tales is a popular compilation of short stories by Leo Tolstoy. According to its publisher, Oxford University Press, the collection is about contemporary classes in Russia during Tolstoy's time, written in a brief, morality-tale style. [1] It was translated into English by Louise Maude and Aylmer Maude.

Contents

Contents

The stories are divided into seven parts:

  1. Tales for Children
    1. God Sees the Truth, But Waits
    2. The Prisoner of the Caucasus
    3. The Bear Hunt
  2. Popular Stories
    1. What Men Live By
    2. Quench the Spark
    3. Two Old Men
    4. Where Love Is, God Is
  3. A Fairy Tale
    1. Ivan the Fool
  4. Stories Written to Pictures
    1. Evil Allures, But Good Endures
    2. Wisdom of Children
    3. Ilyás
  5. Folk-Tales Retold
    1. The Three Hermits
    2. Promoting a Devil
    3. How Much Land Does a Man Need?
    4. The Grain
    5. The Godson
    6. Repentance
    7. The Empty Drum
  6. Adaptations from the French
    1. The Coffee-House of Surat
    2. Too Dear!
  7. Stories Given to Aid the Persecuted Jews
    1. Esarhaddon, King of Assyria
    2. Work, Death, and Sickness
    3. The Three Questions

Reception

According to Plough, a publication managed by the Anabaptist Bruderhof Communities since 1920, the work is perfect for those daunted by the longer, complicated works of the Russian master, saying that these tales "illumine eternal truths with forceful brevity." [2] According to Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin, a 2009 reviewer with HistoryInReview, Twenty-Three Tales is an excellent collection that doesn't focus too much on Tolstoy's opinion of Christianity, so much as it is "about proper behavior: that people should help one another." [3] According to famed Tolstoy translator Aylmer Maude, the work contains "several of his best tales for the people: 'How Much Land Does a Man Need?', 'Ilyas', 'The Three Hermits', and the excellent temperance story, 'The Imp and the crust.'" [4]

Editions

According to an editor at Cambridge University Press, at least one of the stories presented Tolstoy had heard from a wandering storyteller in 1876. [5]

The work was originally published in 1907 by Funk & Wagnalls. [6] It was published by Oxford University Press in 1917, [7] 1924, [8] who would republish it again in 1928, [9] 1947, [1] and 1950. [10]

It was republished by The Plough (maintained by the Bruderhof Communities) in 1998. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How Much Land Does a Man Need?</span> 1886 Short story by Leo Tolstoy

"How Much Land Does a Man Require?" is an 1886 short story by Leo Tolstoy about a man who, in his lust for land, forfeits everything.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylmer and Louise Maude</span> English translators

Aylmer Maude and Louise Maude (1855–1939) were English translators of Leo Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography, The Life of Tolstoy. After living many years in Russia the Maudes spent the rest of their lives in England translating Tolstoy's writing and promoting public interest in his work. Aylmer Maude was also involved in a number of early 20th century progressive and idealistic causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Dear!</span> Short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy

"Too Dear!" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1897. It is a humorous account of the troubles of dealing with a criminal in the kingdom of Monaco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Questions</span> Short story by Leo Tolstoy

"The Three Questions" is a 1903 short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy as part of the collection What Men Live By, and Other Tales. The story takes the form of a parable, and it concerns a king who wants to find the answers to what he considers the three most important questions in life.

"Repentance" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1886. The story details the difficulties of a repentant sinner's attempts to enter Heaven.

"The Grain" or "A Grain As Big As A Hen's Egg" is an 1886 short story by Leo Tolstoy about a king seeking to understand the properties of a grain he acquires.

"The Raid" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1853. The story, set in the Caucasus, takes the form of a conversation between the narrator and a military captain about the nature of bravery. The story is based on Tolstoy's own experiences as an artillery cadet stationed in the Caucasus.

"The Three Hermits" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy written in 1885 and first published in 1886 in the weekly periodical Niva (нива). It appeared in the short-story collection Twenty-Three Tales which was first translated into English for an edition released by Funk & Wagnalls in 1907. The title refers to its three central characters; unnamed simple monks living on a remote island in a life of prayer and contemplation "for the salvation of their souls."

The Cause of It All is a play in two parts by Leo Tolstoy published in 1910, and later translated by Aylmer and Louise Maude. It heavily features anti-alcohol and teetotaling themes.

"Evil Allures, But Good Endures" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1885. It is commonly included in the massively-reproduced collection Twenty-three Tales.

"The Port" is a short story by Guy de Maupassant written in 1889 and translated by Leo Tolstoy into Russian in 1891 as Françoise: A Story After Maupassant ("Франсуаза"). Other works by Maupaussant translated by Tolstoy include Too Dear!, which is often included in the popular collection of Tolstoy's work Twenty Three Tales.

"Walk in the Light While There is Light" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1893. According to famed Tolstoy-translators Louise Maude and Aylmer Maude, this story reflects Tolstoy's interest with early Christians, and according to translator Huntington Smith, this is a story about the early times of Christianity.

"The Coffee-House of Surat" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1891, first published in Russian in 1893, and first published in English in 1901. Like several other of Tolstoy's works, this work is based on a French piece translated by Tolstoy himself, by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. Due to the censorship in Russia, Tolstoy had to adjust the tale somewhat.

"Posthumous Notes of the Hermit Fëdor Kuzmich" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in December, 1905, and then only published in 1912, over the ferocious objections of the tsarist censors and two years after Tolstoy's death. It was never completed.

"The Godson" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy published in 1886. Inessa Medzhibovskaya, professor of English at New School for Social Research, describes the short story as the tale of a godson who is forbidden to open a certain sealed room in his godfather's palace, but then opens it and is banished, leading to his need for redemption.

"The Empty Drum: A Russian Folk Tale Retold by Leo Tolstoy" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy published in 1891. According to Aylmer Maude, famous Tolstoy translator, it was originally written in 1887, and is based on a folk story that reflects the Russian peasant's deep hatred of military service. It is based specifically on a folktale from the Volga region.

"Esarhaddon, King of Assyria" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1903. Tolstoy wrote it as part of an anthology dedicated to the victims of the Kishinev pogrom in Russia, with all of the proceeds going to a relief fund. It is the story of a king who oppresses his subjects.

"Ilyás" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1885. It is the story of the farmer, Ilyas, who grew up successful but loses his fortune through mistake, in the end only finding peace without having property.

"Singing In The Village" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1909 and published in 1910. While classified as a short story, translator and biographer Aylmer Maude described the piece as a sketch. According to The Spectator in 1910, the story details "...the incidents of his daily life, his conversations with his village friends and with the tramps and beggars who gather at his door, and his reflections upon them."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The First Step (essay)</span> 1891 article by Leo Tolstoy

"The First Step" is an article by Leo Tolstoy primarily advocating for vegetarianism, but at the same time also briefly mentioning themes relating to anarchism and pacifism. It was Tolstoy's preface to a book by Howard Williams, which Tolstoy translated into Russian.

References

  1. 1 2 Leo Tolstoy (1947). Twenty-three Tales. Translated by Louise Maude, Aylmer Maude. ISBN   9781427020680.
  2. ↑ Plough.com. "Walk in the Light, And Twenty-Three Tales, Leo Tolstoy".
  3. ↑ Israel Drazin (August 4, 2009). "Walk in the Light, And Twenty-Three Tales, By Leo Tolstoy".
  4. ↑ Aylmer Maude (1910). The Life of Tolstoy. Vol. 2. Dodd, Mead & Co. p. 297.
  5. ↑ Donna Tussing Orwin (2010). Anniversary Essays on Tolstoy. Anniversary Essays on Tolstoy. p. 28.
  6. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1907). Twenty-Three Tales (PDF). Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. Funk & Wagnalls.
  7. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1917). Twenty-Three Tales. Translated by Louise Maude, Aylmer Maude. Oxford University Press.
  8. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1924). Twenty-three Tales. H. Milford; Oxford University Press.
  9. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1928). Twenty-three Tales. Translated by Louise Maude, Aylmer Maude. Oxford University Press.
  10. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1950). Twenty-three Tales. Oxford University Press.
  11. ↑ Leo Tolstoy (1998). Walk in the Light & Twenty-three Tales. Translated by Louise Maude, Aylmer Maude.

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