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Novelist and biographer A N Wilson is an acknowledged expert on the great Russian novelist Tolstoy. He rejects the belief that Tolstoy’s works were an exact mirror of his life, arguing instead that the roots of his writing lie in his relationship with God, with women and with Russia. Wilson examines Tolstoy’s turbulent life, his privileged but emotionally deprived childhood, his womanising and gambling and the eventual realisation of his literary genius. Along the way, he also portrays the turmoil of 19th-century Russia.

Wilson has written 20 novels. The most recent, Winnie and Wolf, was long-listed for the Man Booker in 2007. His non-fiction work includes Dante in Love, Betjeman: A Life, and C S Lewis: A Biography. He will be discussing Dante at a separate event at this year’s festival. AN Wilson will be introduced by Maggie Fergusson, director of the Royal Society of Literature.