L. N. Tolstoy, "Anna Karenina," in 2 volumes / ed. P. I. Biryukov; illustrations by Z. Pichugina, K. Lebedev, A. Apsit, 1913, I. D. Sytin Printing House, Moscow, 452/384 pages, three-sided patterned edge, portrait before title page, 20.7 x 14.7 cm Anna Karenina is a novel by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, first published as a book in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially published in installments from 1875 to 1877, with all but the final installment appearing in the journal Russky Vestnik. By the time he finished the final installments, Tolstoy was in a tormented state of mind, hating the novel but reluctantly finishing it. The novel deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and the differences between rural and urban life. The story centres on an extramarital affair between Anna and cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalises the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in pursuit of happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.