Editing War and Peace (section)

===Book One===
[[File:Maria Fedorovna by Vigee-Lebrun.jpg|thumb|The Empress Dowager [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Maria Feodorovna]], mother of reigning Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]], is the most powerful woman in the Russian royal court.]]

The novel begins in July 1805 in [[Saint Petersburg]], at a [[soirée]] given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, the [[maid of honour]] and confidante to the [[Empress dowager|dowager empress]] [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Maria Feodorovna]]. Many of the main characters are introduced as they enter the salon. [[Pierre Bezukhov|Pierre (Pyotr Kirilovich) Bezukhov]] is the illegitimate son of a wealthy [[count]]. He is about to become embroiled in a struggle for his inheritance, since the count is dying after a series of strokes. Educated abroad at his father's expense following his mother's death, Pierre is kindhearted but socially awkward, and finds it difficult to integrate into Petersburg society. It is known to everyone at the soirée that Pierre is his father's favorite of all the old count's illegitimate progeny. They respect Pierre during the soirée because his father, Count Bezukhov, is a very rich man, and as Pierre is his favorite, most aristocrats think that the fortune of his father will be given to him even though he is illegitimate.

Also attending the soirée is Pierre's friend, Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky, husband of Lise, a charming society favourite. He is disillusioned with Petersburg society and with married life, feeling that his wife is empty and superficial. Pierre does not quite know what to do with this and is made uncomfortable witnessing the marital discord. Pierre was sent to Petersburg by his father to choose a career but is uncomfortable because he cannot find one and people frequently ask about it. Andrei tells Pierre he has decided to become {{lang|fr|[[aide-de-camp]]}} to Prince [[Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov]] in the [[war of the Third Coalition|coming war]] (the Battle of Austerlitz) against [[Napoleon I|Napoleon]] in order to escape a life he cannot stand.

The plot moves to [[Moscow]], Russia's former capital, contrasting its provincial, more Russian ways to the more European society of Saint Petersburg. The Rostov family is introduced. Count Ilya Andreyevich Rostov and Countess Natalya Rostova are an affectionate couple but worried about their disordered finances. They have four children. Thirteen-year-old Natasha (Natalia Ilyinichna) believes herself in love with Boris Drubetskoy, a young man who is about to join the army as an officer. Boris's mother is Anna Mikhaylovna Drubetskaya, a childhood friend of the countess Natalya Rostova. Boris is also the godson of Pierre's father, Count Bezukhov. Twenty-year-old Nikolai Ilyich pledges his love to Sonya (Sofia Alexandrovna), his fifteen-year-old cousin, an orphan who has been brought up by the Rostovs. The eldest child, Vera Ilyinichna, is cold and somewhat haughty but has a good prospective marriage to a Russian-German officer, Adolf Karlovich Berg. Petya (Pyotr Ilyich) at nine is the youngest; like his brother, he is impetuous and eager to join the army when of age.

At Bald Hills, the Bolkonskys' country estate, Prince Andrei departs for war and leaves his terrified, pregnant wife Lise with his eccentric father Prince Nikolai Andreyevich and devoutly religious sister Maria Nikolayevna Bolkonskaya, who refuses to marry the son of a wealthy aristocrat on account of her devotion to her father and suspicion that the young man would be unfaithful to her.

The second part opens with descriptions of the impending Russian-French war preparations. At the [[Battle of Schöngrabern|Schöngrabern engagement]], Nikolai Rostov, now an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[Russian hussars|hussars]], has his first taste of battle. Boris Drubetskoy introduces him to Prince Andrei, whom Rostov insults in a fit of impetuousness. He is deeply attracted by [[Tsar Alexander I|Tsar Alexander]]'s charisma. Nikolai gambles and socializes with his officer, Vasily Dmitrich Denisov, and befriends the ruthless Fyodor Ivanovich Dolokhov. Bolkonsky, Rostov, and Denisov are involved in the disastrous [[Battle of Austerlitz]], in which Prince Andrei is badly wounded as he attempts to rescue a Russian standard.

The Battle of Austerlitz is a major event in the book. As the battle is about to start, Prince Andrei thinks the approaching "day [will] be his [[Siege of Toulon|Toulon]], or his [[Battle of Arcole|Arcola]]",<ref name="day">Leo Tolstoy, ''War and Peace.'' p. 317</ref> references to Napoleon's early victories. Later in the battle, however, Andrei falls into enemy hands and even meets his hero, Napoleon. But his previous enthusiasm has been shattered; he no longer thinks much of Napoleon, "so petty did his hero with his paltry vanity and delight in victory appear, compared to that lofty, righteous and kindly sky which he had seen and comprehended".<ref name="sky">Tolstoy p. 340</ref> Tolstoy portrays Austerlitz as an early test for Russia, one which ended badly because the soldiers fought for irrelevant things like glory or renown rather than the higher virtues which would produce, according to Tolstoy, a victory at [[Battle of Borodino|Borodino]] during the [[Napoleon's invasion of Russia|1812 invasion]].