Passion or Profession: Novelist

Period: 1828–1910

Tolstoy was orphaned at the age of nine and shuttled between relatives for years. He briefly attended college before leaving to join the army. During this time in the army, he developed his writing skills and philosophies in a diary. His works investigate the influence that simple moral decisions and thought processes have on social behavior and history. He explored these themes in novels such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina.