Leo Tolstoy's grandfather, Ilya Andreyevich Tolstoy, was the person on whom the elderly Count Rostov in 'War and Peace' was modeled.
The family union between Ilya Andreyevich and Pelagea Nikolaevna Gorchakova was "happy and virtuous," and their household was known for its hospitality. In the first few chapters of 'War and Peace', some crystal glasses bearing the monogram of Count Ilya Andreyevich, 'CET' (the French abbreviation 'Comte Elie Tolstoi' - 'Count Ilya Tolstoy') are mentioned among the items on the table over lunch at the Rostovs.