Henri Troyat
Henri Troyat was a prolific French author and biographer of Russian-Armenian descent, known for his historical novels and biographies. He was a member of the Académie Française and wrote over 100 books during his lifetime, including works on Russian history and literature.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. L'araigne
The 13553rd Greatest Book of All Time -
2. Aliocha
The novel explores the life of a young Russian boy named Aliocha, who is living in France with his family after fleeing the Russian Revolution. As he navigates the challenges of adolescence, Aliocha grapples with his dual identity and the cultural tensions between his Russian heritage and his new French surroundings. The story delves into themes of belonging, identity, and the struggle to reconcile one's past with the present, all while Aliocha seeks to find his place in a world that feels both familiar and foreign. Through his experiences, the novel paints a poignant picture of the immigrant experience and the universal quest for self-discovery.
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3. Tolstoy
A vivid, sympathetic biography that traces the life of a great Russian novelist from aristocratic childhood and wartime experiences through the composition of his major novels, examining his complex marriage and family life, his profound moral and spiritual crisis that led him to renounce wealth and conventional religion, his embrace of nonviolence and simple living, the public and private conflicts that ensued, and his dramatic final flight from home and death, all set against the wider social and historical currents of 19th-century Russia.
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4. Catherine The Great
Born a minor German princess and transplanted into the Russian court, she sheds her original identity, learns the language and politics, and after orchestrating a coup against her ineffectual husband ascends to the throne; during a long, energetic reign she combines Enlightenment-inspired reforms in administration, law, education and the arts with ruthless political maneuvering and territorial expansion. Torn between public ambition and turbulent private life—marked by lovers, intrigues and the Pugachev uprising—she emerges as a complex, larger-than-life ruler who remade Russia into a major European power.
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