Master and Man and Other Stories

The ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy''s artistic prowess displayed over five decades - experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, ''The Two Hussars'' contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy''s belief that art must serve a moral purpose, ''What Men Live By'' portrays an angel sent to earth to learn three existential rules of life, and ''Two Old Men'' shows a peasant abandoning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to help his neighbours. And in the highly moving ''Master and Man'', Tolstoy depicts a mercenary merchant travelling with his unprotesting servant through a blizzard to close a business deal - little realizing he may soon have to settle accounts with his maker.