Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
The novel Anna Karenina starts with one of its most often quoted lines. It's a story of the tragedy of infidelity; those committed and those imagined.
The book opens with Anna arriving on a scene of family chaos which has been brought about by her brother's unbridled womanizing. The story revolves around the married Anna's romance with the wealthy Count Vronsky and the trouble it brings them. Illustration for 1919 edition by Helen Mason Grose
We feature Tolstoy's novel in our guide to Russian Writers.
Return to the Leo Tolstoy library.