Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Leon Tolstoy — Key Ideas to Explore

A Catalogue of Translators and Editions

The index records a variety of translators, each associated with specific volumes. Constance Garnett translated Anna Karenina; Louise and Aylmer Maude handled Master and Man, Resurrection, and the Plays; Leo Wiener rendered the Fables for Children and Stories for Children; Rose Strunsky translated The Journal of Leo Tolstoi. This diversity suggests that the Project Gutenberg collection draws from multiple source editions, not a single uniform set. The presence of a translator’s preface in The Kreutzer Sonata and Resurrection indicates that some volumes include paratextual material. The index itself does not evaluate these translations, but the list alone hints at the range of approaches to Tolstoy’s Russian prose.

Structural Patterns in the Contents

The table of contents for The Kreutzer Sonata and Others shows a consistent chapter numbering (I through XXVIII for the title story), followed by shorter works like Ivan the Fool (twelve chapters) and Polikushka (six chapters). In contrast, Father Sergius uses Roman numerals I–VI, while Master and Man has ten chapters labeled I–X. The Plays volume separates works published during Tolstoy’s life from posthumous ones, listing The Power of Darkness (1886) first. The Fables for Children section organizes content by genre: fables, stories, natural science, popular education, and moral tales. This taxonomy reflects an editorial decision to group Tolstoy’s didactic and children’s writings separately from his novels and plays.

Recurring Motifs in the Titles

Several titles in the index share thematic concerns: The Forged Coupon, The Candle, and Neglect the Fire all involve objects that trigger moral crises. Where Love Is, There God Is Also and What Men Live By echo Tolstoy’s religious parables. The presence of A Letter to a Hindu and Bethink Yourselves indicates his later polemical works. The index also lists Tolstoy on Shakespeare, a critical essay, and On the Significance of Science and Art, showing his engagement with aesthetics. These titles, when read together, outline Tolstoy’s shift from fiction to moral and social commentary in his later years.

Because this index is a reference tool, readers may find it most useful as a starting point for exploring Tolstoy’s oeuvre. The linked tables of contents allow quick navigation to specific chapters or stories. The variety of translators and editions means that the same work may appear in different styles across volumes. For those interested in Tolstoy’s development, the chronological arrangement of some sections—such as the journal entries from 1895 to 1899—offers a window into his later thoughts.

Reading the list of Tolstoy’s volumes, I remembered holding my father’s old, brittle-paged Anna Karenina, the smell of dust and another time. That same quiet awe at human breadth returned when I found A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs Comprising French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Danish, with English Translations and a General Index — Story, Setting & Ideas; both feel like staring into a vast, patient crowd, each face a learned lesson. There’s comfort in that weight of inherited words.