Tolstoy’s epic is set in the Napoleonic era in Russia, flitting between the battlefield and the home front as it follows three infamous characters: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, a beautiful young nobleman’s daughter.

Tolstoy explores war’s impact on armies and aristocrats alike. (If it feels too long, you can always cheat and dip into the BBC adaptation.)