Tolstoy wrote The Death of Ivan Ilyich. (1886) while emerging from the intense spiritual struggle that led to his conversion to Christianity. The novella was hailed by intellectuals such as Gandhi and Vladimir Nabokov. Ivan Ilych Golovin, is a high-court judge in St. Petersburg facing the threat of a terminal disease and the worthlessness of his past life. Tolstoy depicts the protagonist rising to spiritual heights as his health continuously declines.