BOOK ONE
Book One, Part One
1 Jan: Chapter 1
Prince Vasili’s foolish son, the bane of his life, the cross he bears. The boy is costing him forty thousand rubles a year. If only he could be married to a rich heiress, like Princess Marya Bolkonskaya.
6 Jan: Chapter 6
And here is why Anatole is costing his father so much. Pierre joins Kuragin’s wild party where Dolokhov is winning a drinking bet with an Englishman. Anatole is a “tall handsome fellow” who helps get Pierre drunk before taking him off to a brothel.
7 Jan: Chapter 7
His father manages to hush up the incident with the bear and the policeman, saving Anatole from any serious punishment. We can imagine how delighted Prince Vasili was the morning after.
22 Jan: Chapter 22
He’s a handsome rascal, according to Julie Karagin. And he may yet be the husband of Marya Bolkonskaya.
Book 1 Part 3
18 Feb: Chapter 3
At Bald Hills: “He regarded his whole life as a continual round of amusement which someone for some reason had to provide for him.” He thinks he may marry Marya, for she is rich. But he asks Vasili, “joking part, is she very hideous?”
19 Feb: Chapter 4
Anatole is dumb and doesn't think much, but he has a self-possession that allows him to remain silent for a long time. He knows women will be curious and will fall in love with him, but he thinks very little about this, or indeed anything.
We learn from Lisa about Anatole's “doings in Paris.” This brings Mademoiselle Bourienne into the conversation, and Anatole regards her, concluding that his stay at Bald Hills will not be dull. “I hope she will bring her along with her when we’re married.”
Anatole is questioned by the old prince, who discovers he has no idea who he will be attached to in the war. Anatole is amused, and old Bolkonsky is contemptuous.
Of Marya, he thinks: “She's devilishly ugly!”
20 Feb: Chapter 5
Unlike everyone else at Bald Hills, Anatole sleeps soundly. The next day, without having spoken to Mademoiselle Bourienne, he went to meet her in the conservatory. Marya disturbs them.
BOOK TWO
Book 2 Part 3
27 Apri: Chapter 15
Anatole is at the New Years’ Eve ball. He is described as “a handsome officer of the Horse Guards” who will be married to “that rich girl.”
28 Apri: Chapter 16
“The handsome Anatole was smilingly talking to a partner on his arm, and looked at Natasha’s face as one looks at a wall.”
One to watch. This is only the beginning of the descent, right?