Childhood, Boyhood and Youth

Childhood, Boyhood and Youth is a collection of three novellas linked as a trilogy written by Leo Tolstoy’s about a young man growing up in early nineteenth century Russia. Childhood, Boyhood and Youth is thought by some critics to be autobiographical and there are some elements that are close to Tolstoy’s life. However, other critics such as A. N. Wilson have shown that Childhood, Boyhood and Youth were attempts by the young Tolstoy to create his own mythology about his early years. Original publication started with Childhood in 1852 and was completed by the publication of Youth in 1856 in the Russian literary journal Sovremennik (or The Contemporary in English). Childhood was Tolstoy’s debut novel-length work. This edition of Childhood, Boyhood and Youth also features a brief Biography of Leo Tolstoy and a Bibliography with ideas for further research into Leo Tolstoy and his works.