Publisher, Recorded Books (1990)

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Thus begins Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece. Tolstoy's own spiritual crisis and his search for the meaning of life are deeply felt throughout this powerful tale about the growth and death of love. The touching picture of Anna Aarkadyevna Karenina's slow disintegration has fascinated readers for well over a century. Beautiful and charming, Anna lives in a splendid world of her own making. She smokes, rides horseback, plays tennis, takes opium, practices birth control, and—although she is already married—falls in love with a handsome army officer. Anna's life is played out against a backdrop of dazzling balls and the vastness of the Russian landscape. A magnificent story that shimmers with intelligence and passion, Anna Karenina is one of the most extraordinary novels ever written.

About the Author: Author Leo Tolstoy is one of the towering figures of Russian literature. The celebrated essayist Matthew Arnold wrote in his classic essay on Tolstoy, "We are not to take Anna Karenina as a work of art; we are to take it as a piece of life." Tolstoy also crafted the masterful War and Peace. Far from just a novelist, Tolstoy strove to improve society and traveled throughout Europe to better understand reform. A firm believer that education was the key to changing the world for the better, he founded a school for peasant children, studied theories concerning educational practice, and published articles and books on the subject. He died of pneumonia in 1910.

About the Performer: Narrator Davina Porter has appeared on stages in Boston and New York City, receiving critical acclaim for roles that range from light comedy like Bedroom Farce to the moving Agnes of God. The Los Angeles Times writes, "Porter's entire reading ... is a performance against which all others must be measured."