Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is Tolstoy's classic tale of love and adultery, set against the backdrop of high society in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia. This cultural clash unfolds in a compelling, emotional drama of seduction, betrayal, and redemption.
The novel charts the disastrous course of a love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer. Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together the lives of dozens of characters, and in doing so captures a breathtaking tapestry of late-nineteenth-century Russian society. This novel marks a turning point in the author's career, the juncture at which he turned from fiction toward faith.

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was a renowned Russian novelist, philosopher, and moral thinker, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in world literature. Born into a noble family on September 9, 1828, at Yasnaya Polyana, Russia, he was orphaned at a young age and raised by relatives. After a brief stint at university and time in the military, Tolstoy turned to writing. His early works, such as Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth, drew on his own experiences and established him as a promising literary voice.
Tolstoy’s masterpieces War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877) are towering achievements of realist fiction, blending history, philosophy, and deep psychological insight. In middle life, he underwent a profound spiritual crisis and rejected materialism, embracing a life of Christian-based simplicity, pacifism, and ethical living.
During this period, he wrote philosophical and religious texts including The Kingdom of God Is Within You and the inspiring A Calendar of Wisdom—a daily guide to moral and spiritual reflection compiled from global wisdom traditions.
His radical beliefs brought him into conflict with both the Church and State. Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910, after leaving his estate in search of solitude. His works continue to influence literature, ethics, and global thought.