So on my way to church today I was listening to NPR and they started talking about the battle of Borodino and how some people celebrated its anniversary with a reenactment. I thought it was pretty cool that I’d just happened to read that section right at its anniversary.
It also made me wonder, when they planned the reenactment did they look at Tolstoy’s account along with other more traditional historical records. It would have been funny to have a guy play Pierre and wander around the battlefield smiling like misplaced tourist. They could have had an Andrew and a Nick too.
There’s probably some rule in the reenactor’s handbook about incorporating fictional accounts in their historical representation, but from a writer’s perspective I would have found it a lot more interesting to watch to have stories to follow and characters to watch as the chaotic battle waged.
Here’s a link to an NPR article on the battle. It’s the most historical research I’ve done on Russian history this whole time reading the book.
Character Splash 