Which translation of War and Peace should I get?

Question

I'm really interested in reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Obviously, I want a version that stays true to the original text but I don't know which version is the best.

If possible, does anyone know which translation keeps the French with translations in the footnotes?

Also, is the version printed by Simon and Schuster in 1942 any good?

Please help....

Answer 1

I am not sure about War and Peace specifically, but all other Russian novels that I have read have kept the French in the text and translated in footnotes.  

Try Constance Garnett's 1904 translation or Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's 2007 translation.

I have not actually read War and Peace, but I have read Crime and Punishment in the original Russian and in 4 different English translations.  These translators did the best job with that novel, so I assume they did with War and Peace as well.