1. How many pages did the first published Russian edition of War and Peace contain?

   1. 1,440

   2. 1,980

   3. 1,225

   4. 1,334

2. At the beginning of the novel, Russia is under the reign of Tsar Alexander I. Which nickname was this Russian ruler also known by?

   1. Alexander the Blessed

   2. Alexander the Great

   3. Alexander the Wise

   4. Alexander the Strange

3. The novel is initially set in the city of Saint Petersburg. But in what month and year?

   1. June 1812

   2. July 1805

   3. September 1869

   4. June 1801

4. One of the principal aristocratic families in the novel is the Rostov family who live in Moscow. They have four children, but who is the eldest?

   1. Vera

   2. Nikolai

   3. Petya

   4. Natasha

5. The first edition of War and Peace contained two languages, the dominant one being Russian. What was the other language?

   1. German

   2. French

   3. English

   4. Portuguese

6. In the second volume of the novel, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky suffers a near fatal artillery wound during which Napoleonic battle?

   1. The Battle of Austerlitz

   2. The Battle of Amstetten

   3. The Battle of Bautzen

   4. The Battle of Dresden

7. Which actor played the lead role of Pierre in the BBC's 1972 serialisation of War and Peace?

   1. Rupert Davies

   2. Richard Briers

   3. Anthony Hopkins

   4. John Cleese

8. Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev produced an opera version of War and Peace during the 1940s. It premiered in 1955 in which Russian city?

   1. Moscow

   2. Leningrad

   3. Saint Petersburg

   4. Novosibirsk

9. War and Peace is one of the longest novels ever written. How many words is the English translation said to contain?

   1. 490,000

   2. 520,000

   3. 560,000

   4. 800,000

10. The first English version of War and Peace was translated by Clara Bell, who worked from a French copy. In what year was her translation published?

    1. 1870

    2. 1885

    3. 1886

    4. 1890

Solutions

1:C, 2:A, 3:B, 4:A, 5:B, 6:A, 7:C, 8:B, 9:C, 10:C

Scores

1. 4 and above.

   Bottom of the class. In the words of Leo Tolstoy: "All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom."

2. 7 and above.

   Could do better. Try learning from Leo Tolstoy, who believed that: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."

3. 10 and above.

   Top marks. As Leo Tolstoy said, "A battle is won by those who firmly resolve to win it."