Anna Karenina

It is no surprise that Leo Tolstoy's peers should have hailed this Russian literary masterpiece as one of the best novels ever written. Even in the 21st century, it has regularly been voted as one of the top 100 books in literature. First published in serial form between 1873 and 1877, it tells the tragic love story of the aristocrat of the title and her lover Count Vronsky. As they pursue their relationship, Russian society shuns Anna, making her increasingly paranoid and distressed, as her marriage to Count Karenin falls apart and he threatens to take her son, Seryozha, away from her if she continues her affair. Multi-stranded, Tolstoy's commanding work covers many themes, including the Russian feudal system, social hypocrisy, the family and, above all, passion.