A startling portrayal of aristocracy, Anna Karenina is heralded as one of the greatest novels of all time. Leo Tolstoy masterfully depicts the tragedy of Anna’s adultery, lingering long enough to allow the reader to examine the pursuit of love, and consequently of happiness. Through a secondary character, Levin, he further explores the search for fulfillment in finding a job of significance.
Anna Karenina defines the Russian character and illustrates the human experience. It is a powerful work of literature that bends from courtship to suicide.
Art imitates life for Leo Tolstoy. The inspiration for Anna Karenina came in 1872 when his neighbor’s mistress jumped under a train in a nearby station in Russia. Five years later, he completed the novel.
Born on August 28, 1828, Tolstoy lived in both Moscow and St. Petersburg and had an estate called Yasnaya Polyana. He fathered twelve children before dying in 1910. His novels, particularly Anna Karenina and War and Peace, have kept his name alive.
