Louise Maude, an English translator of Leo Tolstoy's works, lived for many years in Russia. As a close friend of the Tolstoy family, she received express authorization in 1902 to write his biography. After relocating to England, she dedicated herself to translating and promoting awareness of Tolstoy's writings. Her efforts significantly contributed to the understanding of his literary legacy in the English-speaking world.
Anna Karenina is one of the loved and memorable heroines of literature. Her overwhelming charm dominates a novel of unparalleled richness and density. This book addresses the very nature of society at various levels - of destiny, death, human relationships and the irreconcilable contradictions of existence.
Tolstoy's beguiling masterpiece entwines love, death and determinism with Russia's war with Napoleon and its effects on those swept up by the terror it brings. Following the rise and fall of some of society's most influential families, this truthful and poignant epic is as relevant today as ever.
"The Constance Garnett translation has been revised throughout by the editors."