I’ve gotten curious about the first published version of War and Peace, which was titled «Тысяча восемьсот пятый год» [1805] and published in the journal «Русский вестник» in 1865-66; it corresponded to Part I of the final version. You’d think all those nineteenth-century journals would have been scanned by now, but the useful links page at XIX век shows only a few issues for those years, none of which have installments of the Tolstoy novel. You’d also think someone would have put the first published version of the Greatest Novel of All Time online somewhere, but if they have, I can’t find it. It’s not urgent, since I won’t be getting to 1865 in my reading for months, but does anybody happen to know if it’s available?
Update. This (pdf) appears to be it; thanks, Erik!
Update (May 2026). The link in the previous update is dead, and I still can’t find an online text!
Speak Your Mind