The First Distiller

It isn't always easy being a demon. As Luci, the demon in Matt Groening's Netflix series 'Disenchantment' will agree, not everybody is easy to tempt. Leo Tolstoy's 'The First Distiller' features a very down demon, who has the tough task of tempting the wholesome Russian peasants. He longs to have some politicians or businessmen to bring down - until he has the bright idea of inventing alcohol. History tells us what comes next! Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists. Tolstoy’s major works include 'War and Peace' (1865–69) and 'Anna Karenina' (1875–77), two of the greatest novels of all time and pinnacles of realist fiction. Beyond novels, he wrote many short stories and later in life also essays and plays. In the years following the publication of 'War and Peace' Tolstoy - who was born to a Russian aristocratic family - had a spiritual awakening that made him a committed Christian anarchist and pacifist. His philosophy inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.