With its mix of romance and drama charted over 1,300 pages, War and Peace is known for being a long and demanding novel to read.
長篇浪漫小說《戰爭與和平》全書1300多頁，素以篇幅長、閱讀難度大而聞名。

But despite a TV adaptation of the book aired on the BBC, even some of the stars of the production have admitted to never reading the classic before landing their roles.
一部根據本書改編的電視劇已于BBC頻道開播。不過，參演的不少明星都承認：在接到這個角色之前，他們從未讀過這本經典名著。

The epic novel about the French invasion of Russia seen through the eyes of five aristocratic families, by Leo Tolstoy, was first published in 1869 and took the author more than six years to write.
這部史詩小說為列夫·托爾斯泰所著，寫作時間歷時六年多，于1869年首次出版。該書從五個貴族家庭的視角向讀者展現了法國入侵俄國的那段歷史。

It is considered one of the great novels of the literary world but also as a tough read, given it is length and the fact it has more than 600 characters.
《戰爭與和平》是世界文學中最偉大的作品之一，但由于篇幅長，加上書中人物達600多個，所以讀者閱讀起來很有難度。

And several of the stars have admitted to the Telegraph only reading it when landing their roles.
在接受英國每日電訊報采訪時，好幾位主演承認，知道自己要出演某個角色后，他們才開始讀這本書。

Lily James, who plays Natasha Rostov in the epic said she had never read the book but was hooked once she started ploughing through it while on the set of Downton Abbey.
莉莉·詹姆斯在劇中飾演娜塔莎·羅斯托娃。從未看過本書的她稱自己在拍攝《唐頓莊園》的間隙開始啃這本書，很快就入了迷。

She said: 'I was reading it while we were filming Downton Abbey. I'd be reading between takes at the dining table. The director would call "Action" and - bang!- the book would be back under the table.'
她說道：“我是一邊拍《唐頓莊園》一邊看《戰爭與和平》的。一有拍攝停頓，我就坐在餐桌邊閱讀。導演喊‘開拍’時，我馬上‘啪’地合上書放回桌子底下。”

James Norton who plays her love interest Prince Andrei admitted he only managed a few pages of the classic before filming began, while on the set of another TV show.
詹姆斯·諾頓在劇中飾演娜塔莎的愛慕對象安德烈公爵，他也表示自己只是在拍另一部劇時抽空翻了幾頁《戰爭與和平》，然后就投入了拍攝。

He added: 'The only bit I read before was when I was sitting at that bus stop, waiting for the cameras to turn around, I got through around ten pages.'
他表示：“我之前讀到的那幾頁是在拍戲間隙看的。當時在等著下個鏡頭開拍，我坐在公交站臺看了大概有十頁。”

While Paul Dano, who plays Pierre Bezukhov admitted when he did get round to reading it, he found a few parts difficult to get through.
在劇中飾演皮埃爾·別祖霍夫的保羅·達諾表示，自己特意抽時間讀了一下這本書，但發現有些內容確實難以讀懂。

The BBC drama boasts an impressive cast including Harry Potter's Jim Broadbent and The Fall's Gillian Anderson.
這部BBC新劇號稱擁有超豪華演員陣容，包括曾出演《哈利波特》的吉姆·布勞德本特以及《墮落》女主角吉蓮·安德森等。

It has been adapted by Andrew Davies, who is best knwon for his huge success in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth.
本片編劇安德魯·戴維斯1995年還曾改編過科林·費爾斯版《傲慢與偏見》，大獲成功。

Mr Davies has since worked on Vanity Fair, Bleak House and Sense And Sensibility, to name a few.
此后，戴維斯也擔任過不少作品的編劇，包括《名利場》 、《荒涼山莊》、《理智與情感》等。

However, he too admitted he had never read War And Peace until he was asked to consider adapting it for TV by Faith Penhale, head of drama for BBC.
不過，與上面的各位演員一樣，他承認，直到BBC電視劇頻道主任費斯·彭黑爾找到他，希望他能將這本書改編成電視劇時，他才開始讀《戰爭與和平》。

"I took it with me on holiday, and you know what? Once you get into it, it's a page-turner," he said.
他說道：“度假時我帶上了這本書，你猜怎么著？一旦開始讀它，你就再也停不下來了。”

"Great characters, thrilling action scenes, lots of battles (of course), a classic duel, several love stories, with seductions, betrayals and a happy ending for some, but not all, of our favourite characters. What's not to like?"
“人物塑造完美，動作場景精彩，當然還有很多戰爭場面以及經典的決斗情節，愛情、誘惑和背叛等線索穿插其間，雖然并非所有人物都結局圓滿，但我們喜歡的不少角色最終都有了很好的歸宿。你還有什么理由不喜歡它呢？”

Vocabulary
plough through：費勁地閱讀
love interest：愛慕對象

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：懵懵zoe
審校&編輯：杜娟