Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) launched his literary career in 1855 with The Sebastopol Sketches, tales inspired
by his service in the Crimean War. In addition to his great novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, he wrote many
stories, novellas, and essays.
Pevear, Richard (Translator) :
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have produced acclaimed translations of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, and
Bulgakov. Their translation of The Brothers Karamazov won the 1991 PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize.
They are married and live in Paris, France.
Volokhonsky, Larissa (Translator) :
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have produced acclaimed translations of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, and
Bulgakov. Their translation of The Brothers Karamazov won the 1991 PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize.
They are married and live in Paris, France.
Summary
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing oficer,
Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society.
Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters
create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and
family happiness. While previous versions have softened the robust, and sometimes shocking, quality of Tolstoy's
writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This award-winning team's
authoritative edition also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and
eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for generations to come.
