Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878 after initial serialization from 1875 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger; Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel, and it is often considered among the greatest works of world literature. The novel centers on an extramarital affair between Anna and the cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the couple to flee to Italy in pursuit of happiness, before their lives unravel further after they return to Russia, and it explores themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire and the differences between rural and urban life. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the liberal reforms initiated by Emperor Alexander II of Russia and the rapid societal transformations that followed, with trains recurring throughout as a motif.