A. D. P. Briggs

Hesperus Press has come up with another brilliant idea, commissioning experts to write a series of short (100 or so pages) biographies of famous literary figures, although this is the only one of the series that I have read so far, and, sadly, I didn't enjoy the experience much.

While I felt like I gained a little knowledge through reading Anthony Briggs's book, I came away ardently disliking Tolstoy, and not feeling much better about Briggs himself, as I found the tone in which the book was written almost insufferably stuffy; Terry Pratchett described a character in one of his novels as sounding 'like his bum was stuffed with tweed', and this book certainly brought that phrase strongly to mind.

I also felt that Briggs had a tendency to editorializing that I found irritating, especially in a book so short, and it seemed like he was sometimes more interested in giving his own opinions about the figures in Tolstoy's life, reviewing Tolstoy's works, or critiquing the writing of fellow critics and biographers.

Overall, then, I think the series is an excellent, original idea, and if you can get past Briggs's narrative style, this book is quite interesting, but, for me, it wasn't an overwhelming success.… (more)

Anthony Briggs is a true admirer of Tolstoy. Already on the first few pages, he talks about the genius of Tolstoy, author of the best book ever written, etc. This admiration doesn't keep him from being critical about the character of Tolstoy or about some of his minor works. In just over a hundred pages we get to know this great Russian author quite well. In short chapters (which I think is a style Briggs uses on purpose. He talks quite extensively about Tolstoy's writing and the way he uses short chapters in War and Peace to produce a readible book) Briggs leads us through Tolstoy's life, describing his most important works and giving us background information on the origins of every work. In this way the reader is able to understand Tolstoy and some of the more important choices he makes in life (for instance, the influence of Rousseau and Schopenhauer on his beliefs) and you are left with a desire to actually read the books Briggs has described. Very well done and the result is a book that is a very good introduction to the author and his work.… (more)

What a fantastic volume. One wonders what justice could be done to Tolstoy's prolific writing career in just 100 pages (i have had Wilson's 600+ page biography on my shelf for years and have not opened yet)-but Anthony Briggs does an excellent job in this Hesperus Press edition. It is a tempting work - a short easy read with just enough information and background to fill in the highlights of Tolstoy's career and make one want to explore some of the 20+ references in the bibliography.

Briggs does a nice job of chronologically displaying Tolstoy's life/career with the intertwining of key individuals and influencers (Rousseau, Schopenhauer, and Chetkov) with works produced (novels, stories and essays) and with Tolstoy's personal philosophy. Briggs conclusion of Tolstoy's "dardk side" has me hooked to do further readings.

This is the only Herperus Press "Brief Lives" book I have read - but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to others in the series… (more)