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Big Read: The Death of Ivan Ilyich

A guide to online resources in English about Tolstoy's "Death of Ivan Ilyich"

Biography and Bibliography

With a subject like Tolstoy, written about for more than 100 years, internationally famous during his life and after, it is really difficult to know where to start. If you want to find some basic works on him or any of his writings, the Literature Resource Center is an excellent starting point. The materials on every author include a biography, timeline, bibliography and links to the full text of a variety of articles.

Some of the articles will deal only with Tolstoy the writer, his style and place in Russian literature. But many others can be found here that deal with his philosophy, private life, religious beliefs, detailed biographical information, and more. A selection of titles from the Literature Resource Center's lengthy Tolstoy bibliography, with links to many full text articles, appears below.
 
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Tolstoi's New Novel, in The Nation (copyright 1885 The Nation magazine, The Nation Associates, Inc.), Vol. 41, No. 1049, August 6, 1885, pp. 112-13. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 4. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Arnold, Matthew, Count Leo Tolstoi (originally published in The Fortnightly Review, n.s. Vol. XLII, No. CCLII, December, 1887), in his Essays in Criticism, second series, Macmillan and Co. Limited 1888 (and reprinted by Macmillan, 1921), pp. 253-99. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literature Criticism, Vol. 11. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Atkins, Gaius Glenn, Tolstoy's Confessions, in Pilgrims of the Lonely Road, Books for Libraries Press, Inc., 1913, pp. 281-334. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Benson, Ruth Crego, Epilogue: Sexuality's Wasteland, in her Women in Tolstoy: The Ideal and the Erotic, University of Illinois Press, 1973, pp. 111-38. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 30. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Cain, T. G. S., The Religious Crisis: A Confession, in Tolstoy, Paul Elek Ltd., 1977, pp. 124-36. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Chesterton, G. K., Tolstoy and The Cult of Simplicity (1903), in his Varied Types (reprinted by permission of the Estate of G. K. Chesterton), Dodd, Mead and Company, 1921, pp. 125-46. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 4. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Farrar, F. W., Count Leo Tolstoi, in Social and Present Day Questions, Bradley & Woodruff, 1891, pp. 343-54. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Farrar, F. W., Count Leo Tolstoi, in The Forum, Vol. VI, No. 2, October, 1888, pp. 109-24. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Fausset, Hugh I'Anson, The Testimony of Tolstoy, in Poets and Pundits: Essays and Addresses, Jonathan Cape, 1947, pp. 13-30. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Frattarola, Angela. An Overview of `The Death of Ivan Ilych', in Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Greenwood, E. B., Tolstoy the Ascetic? The Kreutzer Sonata, Father Sergius and Resurrection, in his Tolstoy: The Comprehensive Vision, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1975, pp.137-46. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 30. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Halperin, Irving. The Structural Integrity of `The Death of Ivan Ilych', in Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 5, No. 4, Winter, 1961, pp. 33440. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (Nikolaevich)
Howells, W. D., Tolstoy, in his My Literary Passions (copyright © 1895 by William D. Howells), Harper, 1895, pp. 250-58. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 4. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Hubbard, Sara A., The Confession of Count Tolstoi, in The Dial, Vol. 8, No. 90, October, 1887, pp. 125-27. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
James, William, The Sick Soul, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, Longmans, Green and Co., 1902, pp. 149-57. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Kropotkin, Prince, Turguéneff; Tolstóy, in his Ideals and Realities in Russian Literature, Alfred A. Knopf, 1915, pp. 88-150. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 17. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Lee, Vernon, Tolstoi as Prophet, in Gospels of Anarchy and Other Contemporary Studies, T. Fisher Unwin, 1908, pp. 105-31. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Mann, Thomas, Tolstoy, in The Dial, Vol. 85, December, 1928, pp. 453-57. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Matual, David, The Confession as Subtext in The Death of Ivan Il'ich, in The International Fiction Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer, 1981, pp. 124-28. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Maude, Aylmer, The Root of Religion, in The Sackbut, Vol. VII, No. II, June, 1927, pp. 314-16. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Maude, Aylmer, Tolstoy's Teaching, in Tolstoy and His Problems, Grant Richards, 1902, pp. 25-36. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Maude, Aylmer, "Life of Tolstoy," reprinted in Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage, Edited by A. V. Knowles, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978, pp. 225-32. Reprinted in Novels for Students, Vol. 10. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Pachmuss, Temira. The Theme of Love and Death in Tolstoy's `The Death of Ivan Ilyich', in The American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. XX, No. 1, February, 1961, pp. 7283. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Patterson, David, The Movement of Faith as Revealed in Tolstoi's Confession, in Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 74, Nos. 3-4, July-October, 1978, pp. 227-43. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Pike, Christopher R., "Lev Tolstoi: Overview" in Reference Guide to World Literature, 2nd ed., edited by Lesley Henderson, St. James Press, 1995. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Rahv, Philip, Tolstoy: The Green Twig and the Black Trunk, in Image and Idea: Fourteen Essays on Literary Themes, New Directions, 1949, pp. 71-85. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Rowe, William W., "Leo Tolstoy," in Twayne World Authors Series Online, Twayne Publishers, 1986, Chapter 4. Reprinted in Epics for Students, Vol. 2. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Shevitch, S. E., Russian Novels and Novelists of the Day, in The North American Review, Vol. CXXVIII, No. CCLXVIII, March, 1879, pp. 326-34. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 17. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Simmons, Ernest J., Religious, Moral, and Didactic Writings, in Introduction to Tolstoy's Writings, The University of Chicago Press, 1968, pp. 94-117. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Spence, G. W., Suicide and Sacrifice in Tolstoy's Ethics, in The Russian Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, April, 1963, pp. 157-67. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Stepun, Fedor, The Religious Tragedy of Tolstoy, in The Russian Review, Vol. 19, No. 2, April, 1960, pp. 157-70. Reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 79. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Vannatta, Dennis, "The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Overview" in Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed., edited by Noelle Watson, St. James Press, 1994. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo (nikolaevich)
Wasiolek, EdwardA review of The Death of Ivan Illych, in Tolstoy's Major Fiction, The University of Chicago Press, 1978, pp. 16779. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo
Engelberg, Edward, Engelberg, Edward. "Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich': The Dying Life, Chekhov's 'A Dreary Story': The Living Death." In The Elegiac Fictions: The Motif of the Unlived Life, pp. 87-96. University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1989. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 54. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo
Patterson, David, Patterson, David. "The Life of Ivan Il'ich." Thought 65, no. 257 (June 1990): 143-54. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 54. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.
Tolstoy, Leo
Rogers, Philip, Rogers, Philip. "Scrooge on the Neva: Dickens and Tolstoj's Death of Ivan Il'ic." Comparative Literature 40, no. 3 (summer 1988): 193-218. Reprinted in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 54. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center.

 

 

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