{"product_id":"sophia-tolstoy-a-biography-9781416597605","title":"Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography","description":"As Leo Tolstoy's wife, Sophia Tolstoy experienced both glory and condemnation during their forty-eight-year marriage. She was admired as the muse and literary assistant to one of the world's most celebrated novelists. But when in later years Tolstoy became a towering public figure and founded a new brand of religion, she was scorned for her disagreements with him. And it is this version of Sophia--malicious, shrill, perennially at war with Tolstoy--that has gone down in the historical record. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on newly available archival material, including Sophia's unpublished memoir, Alexandra Popoff presents a dramatically different and accurate portrait of the woman and the marriage. This lively, well-researched biography demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, Sophia was remarkably supportive of Tolstoy and was, in fact, key to his fame. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGifted and versatile, Sophia assisted Tolstoy during the writing of \u003ci\u003eWar and Peace \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eAnna Karenina\u003c\/i\u003e. Having modeled his most memorable female characters on her, Tolstoy admired his wife's boundless energy, which he called \"the force of life.\" Sophia's letters, never before translated, illuminate the couple's true relationship and provide insights into Tolstoy's creative laboratory. Although long portrayed as an elitist and hysterical countess, Sophia was in reality a practical, independent-minded, generous, and talented woman who shared Tolstoy's important values and his capacity for work. Mother of thirteen, she participated in Tolstoy's causes and managed all business a airs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePopoff describes in haunting detail the intrusion into their marriage by Tolstoy's religious disciple Vladimir Chertkov, who controlled Tolstoy at the end of his life and led a smear campaign against Sophia, branding her evil and mad. She is still judged by Chertkov's false accounts, which dismissed her valuable achievements and contributions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDuring his later religious phase, Tolstoy renounced his property and copyright, and Sophia had to become the breadwinner. She published Tolstoy's collected works and supported their large family. Despite the pressures of her demanding life, she realized her own talents as a writer, photographer, translator, and aspiring artist. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis vigorous, engrossing biography presents in fascinating depth and detail the many ways in which Sophia Tolstoy enriched the life and work of one of the world's most revered authors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePopoff, Alexandra:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Alexandra Popoff is the award-winning author of literary biographies \u003ci\u003eSophia Tolstoy\u003c\/i\u003e (2010), \u003ci\u003eThe Wives: The Women Behind Russia's Literary Giants\u003c\/i\u003e (2012), and \u003ci\u003eTolstoy's False Disciple: The Untold Story of Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov\u003c\/i\u003e (2014). Her book\u003ci\u003e The Wives\u003c\/i\u003e became a \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003e\"Best Book of the Year.\" Popoff taught Russian literature and history at the University of Saskatchewan before turning to literary biography. She has contributed to \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNational Post\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Philadelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e. Born and raised in Moscow, she now lives in Canada.","brand":"Free Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50415114780946,"sku":"9781416597605","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_11fb99b5-bee5-44a5-9943-db0ac8a08df4.jpg?v=1729394321","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sophia-tolstoy-a-biography-9781416597605","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}