Song Without Words: The Photographs & Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy

by Leah Bendavid-Val

Through never-before-seen photographs and intriguing personal diaries, this beautiful book provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of Countess Sophia Tolstoy and her husband, Leo Tolstoy—one of the greatest authors of all time—set against the grand and terrifying backdrop of aristocratic Russia on the brink of its demise.

Between 1885 and 1910, Countess Tolstoy made more than a thousand photographs representing her entire world—from artists to aristocrats to peasants to family, from the Crimea to Moscow to the family estate 100 kilometers to the south. She also kept detailed diaries, which sweep us into fashionable balls and local gossip...magical scenes of winter in Russia...and devastating famine in the countryside. Sophia's works deepen our understanding of the era as well as of this amazing woman, who had thirteen children, battled a troubled marriage, and, though blessed with a creative life of her own, was so devoted to her husband's career that she hand-copied his great works Anna Karenina and War and Peace many times over.

Song Without Words showcases the photographs by theme, with Sophia's writings providing emotional context for many of the images. Commentary by author Leah Bendavid-Val weaves through the book, linking diaries with pictures and placing each in its historical and literary setting.

Autobiographical in nature, yet global in its true scope, Song Without Words brings to light the gifts of a major figure whose previously unknown works enrich our knowledge of literature, photography, and history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Photography, Russia, Art, History, Womens

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2007

About the author

Leah Bendavid-Val is a historian of photography who has worked with Russian photographers for more than two decades. She is the author most recently of Song Without Words: The Photographs & Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy (published in October 2007). Her two earlier books about Russian photographers and themes are Propaganda & Dreams (1999); and Changing Reality (1991).

Bendavid-Val is former Director of Photography Publishing for National Geographic Books. Books published in her program for popular and professional audiences have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Bendavid-Val is author of two books on the history of National Geographic photography—Stories on Paper & Glass (2001) and the best-selling National Geographic: The Photographs (1994), which is still in print. She is co-author and editor of National Geographic Image Collection, on the New York Times Bestseller List in December 2009.

Based on her Russia and National Geographic work, Leah Bendavid-Val has served as curator for exhibitions at the International Center for Photography, New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, the Pushkin Museum, Moscow, and other museums. She teaches writing and book publishing for photographers at the Santa Fe Workshops in New Mexico. She was Commencement Speaker for the University of Maryland Department of Philosophy, Class of 2008.

(from https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/l...)

Reviews

[brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a truly beautiful book. one of those, almost unbearably moving, that you only pull down in the middle of the night when it's cold and dark and still and hold at a distance so as not to stain the pages with tears...

the photos of lev tolstoy show a wild-eyed bearded stone-faced old coot: stern and distant and a bit mad. but one reads his books and stories and finds a man with, perhaps, a more tender and compassionate and complete understanding of humanity than any other writer... and then one reads Sofia's entries about the man himself -- withdrawn and jealous and, at times, quite cruel -- and, as with the greatest of books and (wo)men, all the human contradictions, all that universal sunshine and universal shit... it's all there.

tolstoy was horribly afraid of dying and spent the latter years of his life fighting to make sense of it all, years spent in agonizing pain raging against the dying of the light: he renounced his great literary works, abstained from sex, gave away his land, and finally, gave himself over to god. to stare into the eyes of this old old man... this horrified genius, this cruel and tender man; to be given a passage into the mind of his wife through the death of their children, through days of boredom and despair, through days of excitement and love and revelation; to feel her love for music and nature and life and for her husband's literary creations...

this book is a treasure.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book! It gives such an in-depth and artistic look into the lives of Tolstoy and his wife, Sophia/Sonya.

[Kelly]

Thank you for a lyrically beautiful review, brian.

[Hannah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The white treetops gleamed, the sky was blue, everything was bathed in rosy light, and in the distant clearing the fluffy snow was dazzling white. What purity. And what a fine and beautiful thing this whiteness and purity is, whether in nature, in one's heart, morals and conscience, or in one's material life. I have tried to preserve it in myself- and all for what? Wouldn't the mere memory of love- however sinful- be preferable to the emptiness of immaculate conscience?"
- particularly striking quote in contrast to Lev Tolstoy's didacticism in later years e.g. What is Art?

"And when the members of his family circle have sacrificed their youth, beauty- everything- to serve this genius, they are then blamed for not understanding the geniuses themselves of course, for sacrificing their pure young lives to him, and atrophying all their spiritual and intellectual capacities, which they are unable to nourish and develop due to lack of peace, leisure and energy."
- resentment (entirely justified) is incredibly tangible; i grieve for her

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful treasure to have stumbled upon at the library. It gives a very intimate view of the life and lives of Sophia and Leo during different phases of their life together. Although she may have felt unappreciated in her time ... these photos and journal clippings bring her to life again and again and reveal the good woman behind the great man and the challenges and implications therein.

[Alyssa DeLeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book! The photographs are fantastic and the text covers so much rich history. Sonya was quite a lady and talented in numerous ways. To think she hand-copied War and Peace seven times for her husband! This is a wonderful way to learn Tolstoy history. The visuals, taken by Sonya herself, are engaging and help solidify the historical facts. The information is interesting and easy to read. Sonya was certainly adroit and this book does her justice.

[Beth Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Countess Tolstoy’s diary entries about children, social life, and marriage could have been written by a mother today. How remarkable that she wed Lev Tolstoy in 1862 yet the worries and observations she records are timeless. I never expected to relate to her so well and the photographs were icing on this delicious cake of a book.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book, with excerpts from the diaries of both Sophia (Sonya) Tolstoy and her husband along with photographs. I could have followed the story a little better if it had been arranged chronologically; nonetheless, it's a lovely historical book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was hard because it would make my own general mood change for the worse. It’s infuriating to be honest. Makes me wonder how many great works we would’ve gotten if she was supported in the way her husband was.

[Lily Rose Maryja Broderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love photography and checked this book out of the library to look at the photographs, but I was captivated by the book and Sonya's diary. This was an overall lovely book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The truth about the much maligned Sophia Tolstoy is finally written. Sophia's cause in life is to preserve everything that concerned Tolstoy's life and work, an incredibly capable and loving woman who pushes her own needs to the side in order to support and care for Tolstoy and his genius. She is a woman of incredible strength and foresight. Carl Sandburg's wife also considered caring for her husband's genius, while managing their home, family and farm, to be her primary work in life. While Sophia Tolstoy did write her memoir but did not publish it, Mrs. Sandburg became a top international goat breeder while supporting two handicapped daughters and her divorced third daughter with her children. WOW.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful companion to the movie "The Last Station" about Tolstoy and Sophia. As a mother and photographer myself, I'm fascinated by women photographers from the Victorian age. Often they are upper class (they had to afford the equipment and have the leisure time) and middle aged (their children were older or grown so they had free time not devoted to motherhood). It's easy to dismiss them for taking portraits of family life or children, but the view through their lens is complex, imaginative, and haunting. I loved that Sophia took self portraits. She was a woman of her time- devoted to her husband, religious, a devout mother, and yet as revealed though these photographs and her diaries, a rich and deep character in the shadow of her husband.

[Melanie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing take on a biography. It's sympathetic without inspiring your pity and it gives both the positives and negatives of being married to a cooky genius with strong beliefs (that clash with her own). This book is a jewel for anyone interested in photography and/or Russian literature (well that describes me to a tee anyway) and the lack of photographic evidence is always one of the difficulties I have in reading biographies, this book shows what great background photos can provide for a life that can hardly be imagined 100 years later.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had no great interest in the Tolstoys before skimming this book and developed none...the pictures are mainly self portraits or wedding anniversary photos of Sonya and Lev (Leo). He looks like a crabby old goat and they bickered and made each other unhappy for 48 years. What's to like?

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parker gave me this book for Christmas. It is a fascinating look at Sophia Tolstoy's life, love and photography. It has really made me want to do more with my own personal history. It is so ahead of it's time, if you like to blog....it's amazing.

[Amanda]

I'm not sure what it is about Russia that I find so romantic, Dr. Zhivago doesn't end well, Mrs. Anna Karenenenenenena doesn't end well, and it is supposed to be mafia dominated and cold. Yet there is something very intriguing there.

[Sandra D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating photos.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect pairing with the Sophia Tolstoy biography. A chance to see her photographs and read some of her diary entries.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reviewing. Wait for me here.