Primary sourceBook1875–1878
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy · 1875–1878
Tolstoy's novel of Anna's tragic affair and Levin's spiritual search, with Levin seen as a self-portrait of the author.
Tolstoy wrote this novel; its character Levin is widely considered a self-portrait of him.
About this source
What it is
Anna Karenina is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, serialized from 1875 and published in full in 1878. It tells the parallel stories of Anna, whose affair scandalizes Russian high society, and Levin, a landowner struggling with faith and meaning.
Why it matters
Tolstoy called it his first true novel. The character of Levin is widely seen as a self-portrait of Tolstoy, and the novel's themes of marriage, faith and rural versus urban life foreshadow the religious and moral crisis Tolstoy went through later in life.
Look closer
- Why might Tolstoy have placed Levin's quiet search for meaning alongside Anna's dramatic tragedy?
- What does the formal 1878 title page suggest about how the book was first presented to readers?
- What parts of Tolstoy's own life might be reflected in Levin's story?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leo Tolstoy on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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