Aylmer Maude (1858-1938) with his wife Louise Maude (1855-1939) were the most famous early translators of Leo Tolstoy. They had the great advantage of knowing Tolstoy and Aylmer was his authorized biographer. Of their translations Tolstoy wrote, ‘Better translations, both for knowledge of the two languages and for penetration into the very meaning of the matter translated, could not be invented.’