Tolstoy's epic novel focuses on the chaos of battle, the horror of death and bloodshed, and the expression of the noble virtues of love and valour.

First published in 1878, Tolstoy's masterpiece tells the story of a woman who seems to have everything: beauty, wealth, popularity and son she adores. Then she meets the impetuous officer Count Vronsky and their affair scandalises society and family.

Tolstoy produced many drafts of "Anna Karenina". Crafting and recrafting each sentence with careful intent, his use of language was anything but casual. His project, translator Marian Schwartz observes, "was to bend language to his will, as an instru...