The Forged Coupon, and Other Stories, Leo Tolstoy
The Forged Coupon, and Other Stories, Leo Tolstoy
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The Forged Coupon, and Other Stories

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Narrator: Finian Silverwood

Unabridged: 4 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/26/2025

Synopsis

"The Forged Coupon, and Other Stories" is a collection that showcases Tolstoy's unerring skill in dissecting the human condition. At its heart, the titular story follows the ripple effects of a single immoral act—a forged coupon—through society, mapping the vast, interconnected web of human actions and their consequences. With lucid prose, Tolstoy examines themes of redemption, the nature of evil, and the ultimate power of good. This compilation is a testament to the transformative potential of compassion and moral awakening in everyday life.

About Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in central Russia and educated privately. He studied Oriental languages and law at the University of Kazan, then led a life of dissipation until 1851, when he went to the Caucasus and joined an artillery regiment. He took part in the Crimean War, and on the basis of this experience wrote The Sevastopol Stories, which confirmed his tenuous reputation as a writer.

After a period in St. Petersburg and abroad, where he studied educational methods for use in his school for peasant children at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy married Sofya Behrs in 1862. The next fifteen years was a period of great happiness: the couple had thirteen children, and Tolstoy managed his estates, continued his educational projects, and wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

A Confession marked a spiritual crisis in Tolstoy's life; he became an extreme moralist, and in a series of pamphlets written after 1880, he expressed his rejection of state and church, indictment of the weaknesses of the flesh, and denunciation of private property. He published his last novel, Resurrection, in 1900.

Tolstoy's teaching earned him many followers at home and abroad, but also much opposition, and in 1901 he was excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church. He died in 1910.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Realini on November 15, 2025

The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy, adapted for the big screen by Robert Bresson as L’argent [URL not allowed] 9 out of 10 Leo Tolstoy is best known for his masterpieces, Anna Karenina [URL not allowed] War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilych, all three......more

Goodreads review by P on August 27, 2020

My only concern with reading Tolstoy has to do with the quality of the translations. Tolstoy's usual brilliance shines through here, in stories that strike at the heart of man's battles with between good and evil, and with human nature itself. This despite the often stilted and uneven efforts of the......more

Goodreads review by Andy on April 14, 2009

Alyosha the Pot is an amazing story. Alyosha is kind of an idiot but he's good-hearted and always does what he's told, does what's helpful, etc. It's a really short story and is another one of those few which feature the death of the character that is the focus of the story.......more

Goodreads review by Steve on February 09, 2019

An interesting collection of works I gather were published posthumously, with an interesting introduction by the unknown editor which analyses Tolstoy's life and work as that of an 'idealist'. Mini reviews follow: The Forged Coupon (61pp.) This is a truly masterful story, up there with Hadji Murat, Iv......more

Goodreads review by Paul on November 22, 2025

A late novella from Tolstoy released posthumously. It's the first shorter fictional work I've read from him that really goes in deep with the Christianity. At the same time, it's wonderful à la ronde about how a bad deed can lead to redemption with goodness and belief.......more

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