
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
- First published
- 1877
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"Anna Karenina" by graf Leo Tolstoy is a novel first published in book form in 1878. The story follows Anna, a married socialite in Imperial Russian society, whose extramarital affair with cavalry officer Count Vronsky scandalizes Saint Petersburg and forces them to flee to Italy. A parallel narrative traces landowner Konstantin Levin's pursuit of marriage and his struggles with faith and estate management. The novel explores themes of betrayal, family, marriage, desire, and the clash between rural and urban life against Russia's rapid social transformation.
- Adultery
- Didactic fiction
- Love stories
- Married women
- Russia
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #1399. Anna Karenina on Wikipedia.
More free books by Leo Tolstoy
About Leo TolstoyWar and Peace
What Is Art?
What Men Live By, and Other Tales
"The Kingdom of God Is Within You"
The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories
Resurrection
Master and Man
The Journal of Leo Tolstoi (First Volume—1895-1899)
The forged coupon, and other stories
Tolstoy on Shakespeare
Childhood
Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Popular Education, Decembrists, Moral Tales











