Alexei Tolstoy

Alexei Tolstoy's Peter the First (or Peter the Great) is a monumental historical novel about the Russian emperor, published in volumes starting in 1930. The work took sixteen years of research and labor and portrays Peter the Great's efforts to transform Russia into a modern European power. The epic novel was written to reflect the harsh realities of the Stalinist era, drawing parallels between Peter the Great's methods and Stalin's leadership, though it differs from earlier, more idealized portrayals of the monarch. Good condition, tears on the dust jacket but pages are clean and bright, spine being tightly bound. Foxing to page ends. Cop.