Leo Tolstoy Letters, 1897-1937

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

• Correspondence, 1897-1937

Description

Summary

The collection consists of 124 letters from Count Leo Tolstoy and members of his family to Aylmer Maude, the English translator of his works. There are 69 letters from Count Leo Tolstoy, eighteen letters from Countess Tolstaia, eleven letters from Sergei Tolstoi (his son), 25 letters from his four daughters, Alexandra, Olga, Marya, and Tatiana, and one letter from Anna Konstantinovna Chertkova. The letters deal with such subjects as "What is art?", the "Resurrection" fund, Tolstoy's health, censorship, Ruskin, the banishment of the Dukhobors to Siberia, Tolstoy's doctrine of non-resistance, Jewish pogroms, famine in Russia, murder of Alexander II, etc. There are letters from the countess which reflect her feelings about the Chertkov's connection with Tolstoy and a letter from Sergei informing Maude that Tolstoy had left home to die, 1910. Subsequent letters deal with posthumous publications of Tolstoy's works.

• Correspondence, 1897-1937

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Readers must use microfilm of the entire collection.

This collection is located on-site.

Alternate Form Available

English translations available for each letter.

Microfilm available.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--1947. Accession number--M-47.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 09/--/89.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Genre/Form

Subject