Tolstoy's "Childhood" (Paperback)

"Childhood" is the first of three novels which describe the development to maturity of a character who is in some way close to Tolstoy himself. It is a classic picture of the life of the Russian gentry and a meditation on the problems which preoccupied Tolstoy all his life: how a person is affected by his environment, to what extent he has the power to change himself, what goals he should strive for, what is good and what is bad. In this study a survey of critical approaches to the work is combined with the author's own independent assessment.