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What Was on Tolstoy's Bookshelf?

By Liza Knapp
Books from Leo Tolstoy's bookshelf

In 1891, a fan wrote Tolstoy asking him to make a list of 100 books that were most important to him. Ever fond of making lists, Tolstoy rose to the challenge.

Tolstoy rated the magnitude of influence these books had on him, using a scale of "enormous," "very great" and "great." He also thought it important to point out that different books were vital to him at different stages in his life and so he divided his list accordingly. Tolstoy came up with a list of around 50 books, but then gave up on the project. 

See what Tolstoy included on his list, and a few others you could find on his bookshelves.