Tolstoy began writing War and Peace in the 1860s.
More specifically, Leo Tolstoy began work on the novel in 1863, making the 1860s the correct decade. He initially developed a project connected with the Decembrists, but the idea moved backward in time toward the Napoleonic period. That change eventually produced the vast historical novel known as War and Peace.
Tolstoy’s early work was published in serialized form under the title 1805. The Russian Messenger began printing parts of the draft in 1865, and Tolstoy continued revising the work extensively. His wife, Sophia Tolstaya, copied multiple complete manuscripts as the novel evolved.
The finished book appeared in 1869, so readers sometimes confuse the decade of completion or publication with the decade when composition began. The novel therefore spans much of the 1860s in its writing history: first drafts date from 1863, serialization began in 1865, and the completed edition appeared near the decade’s end.
War and Peace combines fictional families with real historical figures and campaigns, including Napoleon, Alexander I and the 1812 French invasion of Russia. Tolstoy also inserted philosophical discussions about history, leadership and the relationship between individual choices and large historical forces.