Tolstoy’s Search for the Kingdom of God: Gender and Queer Anarchism – Book Discussion and Signing

Join us for a book launch event for Tolstoy’s Search for the Kingdom of God: Gender and Queer Anarchism (Routledge, 2025)! The author will be providing highlights from the book, taking questions, and signing copies.

This book discussion will explore gender and sexuality in the second half of Count Leo Tolstoy’s life and works. Emphasis is placed on the writer’s turbulent marriage with his wife, Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya, his toxic relationship with Vladimir Chertkov, and the unfortunate combination of sexism and homoeroticism in his later life and art. More positively, though, the presentation will examine Tolstoy’s global contributions to literary and political revolution, and include some Tolstoyan reflections on the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.