Written over a period of more than half a century, Tolstoy¿s enchanting short stories and novellas reflect every aspect of his developing art and outlook. Volume 1 of the Everyman <i>Collected Shorter Fiction</i> is dominated by the characteristic experiences of his early life as soldier, land-owner, husband and father, the life which shaped <i>Anna Karenina</i> and <i>War and Peace</i>. It also includes several short fables which point to his later preoccupation with the religious life.