Although Anna Karenina has been described as “the European novel” by Frank Leavis, the geographical setting of the novel and, increasingly, its temporal and cultural setting, render it a foreign novel to most readers. A Karenina Companion offers a wealth of information, including a great deal that has previously not been available in English, for the scholarly and literary appreciation of this great novel.

Chapter 1 is a biographical introduction and Chapter 2 an examination of the way in which the novel was composed. In Chapter 3 the author brings together Tolstoi’s own substantial comments on his work. Chapter 4 adduces the main differences between the latest edition of the text and what has been the standard edition for over 50 years. Chapter 5 outlines what Tolstoi was reading as he was writing the novel. The final chapter provides a survey of significant secondary literature, with English-language works listed in appendices.

A Karenina Companion will facilitate both the reading and understanding of the novel by English speakers and the writing of informed and reliable critical appreciations.

C.J.G. Turner teaches Russian at the University of British Columbia. He has also written a critical study of Lermontov’s novel A Hero of Our Time.

C.J.G. Turner's profile page