Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the greatest Russian prose writers. His brilliantly crafted epic novels, such as War and Peace, deal with the entire gamut of Russian society, politics and traditions. Journalist and political correspondent Colm Toibin is one of Ireland's leading contemporary writers. His most recent novel is the Booker-shortlisted The Blackwater Lightship.

This brilliant, culturally resonant fiction was written towards the end of Tolstoy's life, but the conflict it describes has obvious, ironic parallels with current affairs today. It is 1852 and Hadji Murat is one of the most feared mountain chiefs and the scourge of the Russian army. When he comes to surrender, the Russians are delighted. Or have they naively welcomed a double-agent into their midst? With its series of sardonic portraits - from the inscrutable Hadji Murat to the fat and bumbling Tsar - Tolstoy's story is an astute and incredibly witty commentary on the nature of political relations and states at war.