How many volumes does War and Peace consist of?

War and Peace consists of four volumes. Leo Tolstoy's vast novel is commonly divided into four books or volumes, followed by an epilogue that is itself arranged in two parts.

The structure reflects the novel's unusual scale. Across its volumes, Tolstoy moves between fictional families—including the Rostovs, Bolkonskys, and Bezukhovs—and the historical upheavals surrounding Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Private conversations, romances, family disputes, military campaigns, and philosophical reflections all share the same narrative world.

Readers sometimes confuse the four-volume structure with the novel's two-part epilogue, or with the many chapters and books used in different translations and editions. Publishers may print the work as one large book, two books, or several physical volumes, but the standard literary division is four volumes plus the epilogue. Editions can therefore look different while preserving the same underlying organization.