 Cover page of the first volume of Anna Karenina, Moscow, 1878 | |
| Author | Leo Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Original title | Анна Каренина |
| Translator | Nathan Haskell Dole (1887) |
| Language | Russian |
| Genre | Realist novel |
| Publisher | The Russian Messenger |
Publication date | 1878 |
| Publication place | Russia |
| Media type | Print (serial) |
| Pages | 864 |
Original text | Анна Каренина at Russian Wikisource |
| Translation | Anna Karenina at Wikisource |
Anna Karenina (Russian: Анна Каренина, IPA: [ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə])[1] is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial installments from 1875 to 1877, all but the last part appearing in the periodical The Russian Messenger.[2] By the time he was finishing up the last installments Tolstoy was in an anguished state of mind and, having come to hate it, finished it unwillingly.[3]
The novel deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and the differences between rural and urban life. The story centres on an extramarital affair between Anna and cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalises the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in a search for happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.
Trains are a motif throughout the novel, with several major plot points taking place either on passenger trains or at stations in Saint Petersburg or elsewhere in Russia. The story takes place against the backdrop of the liberal reforms initiated by Emperor Alexander II of Russia and the rapid societal transformations that followed. The novel has been adapted into various media including theatre, opera, film, television, ballet, figure skating, and radio drama.
- ^ Nabokov, Vladimir (1980). Lectures on Russian Literature. New York: Harvest. p. 137 (note). ISBN 0-15-649591-0.
- ^ Todd, William M. III (2003). "Anna on the Installment Plan: Teaching Anna Karenina through the History of Its Serial Publication," Approaches to Teaching Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," ed. Liza Knapp and Amy Mandeleker, New York: Modern Language Assoc. of America, p. 55.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Larissa (2015). Strangers Drowning : Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help. Penguin Books. p. 277. ISBN 9780143109785.