War and Peace is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature.

It is considered Tolstoy's finest literary achievement, along with his other major prose work Anna Karenina.

Tolstoy himself, described War and Peace that it was 'not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle.' Large sections of the work, especially in the later chapters, are philosophical discussion.

He went on to elaborate that the best Russian literature does not conform to standard norms.