Generally recognized as one of the greatest writers of all time, Leo Tolstoy led a life that was largely uneventful outwardly, while inwardly it was marked by deep emotions and a constant quest for meaning. This ferment was reflected not only in his journey from a privileged member of the nobility to a pacifist and ascetic, but also in his writing, which includes two of the world’s best-known novels. In Simply Tolstoy, Professor Donna Tussing Orwin introduces us to both Tolstoys—the towering author and the spiritual seeker—and helps us to understand the monumental nature of his achievement.