The Originals: Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina was first published in serial instalments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. A canvas exploring a diverse array of themes—matrimony, politics, philosophy, altruism, adultery, religion and death, it is a masterpiece in realist fiction. Anna Karenina, a married aristocrat and socialite from St. Petersburg, falls in love with Count Vronsky, a suave military officer. Hemmed in by the laws of the Russian Orthodox Church, Anna is indecisive and anxious about leaving her husband and starting a new life with Vronsky. A social outcast, Anna is a voracious reader and detests fakery that she feels her husband epitomises. Unfortunately, with her growing suspicion of Vronsky’s fidelity, her affair brings her more misery than joy. Eventually, her paranoia leads her to taking her own life. ‘Flawless as a work of art’ is how Fyodor Dostoyevsky described Anna Karenina.