Childhood. Boyhood. Youth.

The novella “Childhood,” first published in 1852 in the magazine Sovremennik, marked the literary debut of L. N. Tolstoy, an outstanding Russian writer and thinker and a classic of Russian literature. Drawing on childhood memories and diary entries, Tolstoy, however, was writing neither an autobiography nor memoirs. The author sought to reveal the universal laws governing the development of the human soul, its mysterious and ever-changing “dialectic,” and “to express such secrets that cannot be expressed in simple words,” which, in the author’s view, is precisely the main purpose of art. Later, “Childhood” was combined with “Boyhood” (1852–1854) and “Youth” (1855–1857) to form a trilogy and became “not only a storehouse of future literary ideas, but also a certain absolute point on the path, a continent discovered once and for all on the map of Tolstoy’s world” (I. N. Sukhikh).The World Classics book series contains the full texts of Russian and foreign literary works suitable for the school curriculum and extracurricular reading. Classic design, hardcovers, a convenient format, and an affordable price make the series a practical choice for schoolchildren and home libraries.