![]() ![]() ![]() Her husband ascended to the throne as Tsar Paul I in 1796 but was assassinated four years later. Feodorovna then converted to the Russian Orthodox Church, hence the change of name. Born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg in 1759 in Prussia, she was chosen to marry widower Grand Duke Paul in 1796. ![]() Although many of Tolstoy’s characters are fictional, Feodorovna was the true queen mother at the time. It should be noted that this review references the Wordsworth Classics edition which is in translation, bringing with it the politics and challenges of reading in translation.īook One opens to a reception held by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, a maid of honour and favourite, as noted in the novel, to Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Although queenship is not a main focus of the novel, Tolstoy provides an interesting insight into the power of Russian queens and their cultural ties. Beginning in July 1805 and ending in 1820, the epic story depicts the Napoleonic invasion of Russia and its effects on five aristocratic families. Tolstoy’s War and Peace was first published as a selection of short stories before its novel format in 1869. Queenship and Francophilia in Tolstoy’s War and Peace ![]()
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