War and Peace is an epic novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy's two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world's greatest novels.

War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, marriage, age and death. While today it is considered a novel, it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics of Tolstoy's time did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered Anna Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense.

The novel tells the story of five aristocratic families, particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskis, and the Rostovs, and the entanglements of their personal lives with the history of 1805–1813, principally Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. As events proceed, Tolstoy systematically denies his subjects any significant free choice: the onward roll of history determines happiness and tragedy alike.

The standard Russian text is divided into four books (fifteen parts) and two epilogues – one mainly narrative, the other wholly thematic. While roughly the first half of the novel is concerned strictly with the fictional characters, the later parts, as well as one of the work's two epilogues, increasingly consist of highly controversial nonfictional essays about the nature of war, political power, history, and historiography. Tolstoy interspersed these essays into the story in a way that defies fictional convention. Certain abridged versions removed these essays entirely, while others (published even during Tolstoy's life) simply moved these essays into an appendix.

Characters in "War and Peace"

* Pierre Bezukhov — A freethinking Freemason, though weak and at times reckless, is capable of decisive action and great displays of willpower when circumstances demand it.
* Natasha Rostova — the chief female character, charming due to her exuberant and enthusiastic personality
* Andrei Bolkonski — A cynic, who is the foil to Pierre.
* Maria Bolkonskaya — A woman who struggles between the obligations of her religion and the desires of her heart.
* Nikolai Rostov
* Napoleon
* Kutuzov - Russian General throughout the Book.
* Elena Kuragina - Pierre's wife, who earns social power in circles in high society
* Anatoly Kuragin
* Petya Rostov
* The Freemason

Many of Tolstoy's characters in War and Peace were based on real-life people known to Tolstoy himself. Nikolai Rostov and Maria Bolkonskaya were based on Tolstoy's own memories of his father and mother, while Natasha was modeled after Tolstoy's wife and sister-in-law. Pierre and Prince Andrei bear much resemblance to Tolstoy himself, and many commentators have treated them as alter egos of the author.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org