Resurrection

About “Resurrection”

Resurrection, a 1899 novel by Leo Tolstoy, was written over ten years and published to support the Doukhobor sect, a pacifist group persecuted by the Russian government. Tolstoy donated the novel’s proceeds to help the Doukhobors emigrate to Canada. The story follows Nekhlúdoff, a Russian landlord, and Máslova, a prostitute who suffered after Nekhlúdoff wronged her years earlier. When Nekhlúdoff serves on a jury that convicts Máslova for poisoning a merchant, he begins to recognize the harm he caused and the broader injustices of Russian society. His journey to help her reflects themes of spiritual awakening, religious hypocrisy, and social injustice. The novel also includes a subplot about the "single tax" economic theory proposed by Henry George, which influences the management of Nekhlúdoff’s estates.