Book excerpt: "One hundred years after his death in 1910. Lev Nikolaevich Leo Tolstoy continues to be regarded as one of the world's greatest writers. Historically, little attention has been paid to his wife, Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya. Acting in the capacity of literary assistant, translator, transcriber and editor, she played an important role in the development of her husband's career. Her memoirs which she entitled My Life - lay dormant for almost a century. Now the book's first-time-ever appearance in Russia is complemented by an unabridged and annotated English translation." "Tolstaya paints an intimate and honest portrait of her husband's character, setting forth new details about his life to which she alone was privy. She describes her extensive correspondence with many prominent figures in Russian and Western society, making My Life a unique account of late-19th- and early-20th-century Russia, with its cast of characters ranging from peasants to the Tsar himself. Her engaging narrative reveals not only her significant contributions to her husband's work but also her considerable talent as an author in her own right."--BOOK JACKET.