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Quick answer: If you read Anna Karenina, read Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, then Madame Bovary, The Age of Innocence, Middlemarch and Jane Eyre. All are big, humane novels about love, marriage and the pressure of society.
Leo Tolstoy's 1878 novel interweaves the tragic affair of Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky with the more hopeful story of Levin and Kitty, in a portrait of Russian society. It is often called the greatest novel ever written. The books below offer similar tales of love, society and moral choice.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | Adult | Tolstoy's epic |
| The Death of Ivan Ilyich | Leo Tolstoy | Adult | short and powerful |
| The Kreutzer Sonata | Leo Tolstoy | Adult | marriage and jealousy |
| Madame Bovary | Gustave Flaubert | Adult | romantic disillusion |
| The Age of Innocence | Edith Wharton | Adult | society and desire |
| Middlemarch | George Eliot | Adult | provincial life |
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bronte | Adult | gothic romance |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles | Thomas Hardy | Adult | tragic heroine |
| The House of Mirth | Edith Wharton | Adult | society and money |
| The Awakening | Kate Chopin | Adult | female independence |
| Doctor Zhivago | Boris Pasternak | Adult | Russian epic |
| Crime and Punishment | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Adult | guilt and punishment |
| Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | All ages | witty romance |
| Lady Chatterley's Lover | D. H. Lawrence | Adult | class and desire |
| Wuthering Heights | Emily Bronte | Adult | wild love |
1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Five Russian families during the Napoleonic wars. Long, humane and absorbing.
Best for: Tolstoy's epic.
2. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
A judge faces death and reconsiders his life. Brief and devastating.
Best for: short and powerful.
3. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
A man tells the story of his marriage and murder. Short and fierce.
Best for: marriage and jealousy.
4. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
A doctor's wife seeks romance and falls into debt. Precise and unforgiving.
Best for: romantic disillusion.
5. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A man in 1870s New York is torn between duty and passion. Sharp and bittersweet.
Best for: society and desire.
6. Middlemarch by George Eliot
Dorothea Brooke and her neighbours seek meaning and love. Long, wise and rewarding.
Best for: provincial life.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
An orphan becomes a governess and meets the secretive Mr. Rochester. Passionate.
Best for: gothic romance.
8. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
A poor girl is wronged by society and men. Powerful and sad.
Best for: tragic heroine.
9. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Lily Bart struggles to marry well in a society that judges her. A tragic masterpiece.
Best for: society and money.
10. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
A wife in Louisiana wants to live for herself. Short and scandalous.
Best for: female independence.
11. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
A doctor and poet lives through revolution and war. Long, lyrical and sad.
Best for: Russian epic.
12. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A student commits a murder and is tormented by it. Intense.
Best for: guilt and punishment.
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy misjudge each other. Witty and endlessly rereadable.
Best for: witty romance.
14. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
A married woman begins an affair with the gamekeeper. Banned for decades.
Best for: class and desire.
15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Heathcliff and Catherine's destructive bond on the Yorkshire moors. Dark and stormy.
Best for: wild love.
How to Choose
For more Tolstoy read War and Peace or The Death of Ivan Ilyich. For European tragic heroines choose Madame Bovary, Tess or The Awakening. For society and money pick The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth. For big Victorian novels read Middlemarch or Jane Eyre. Anna Karenina is long but gripping, so a good translation matters. Anna Karenina begins with the famous line about happy and unhappy families, and Tolstoy's treatment of Levin's search for meaning is as important as Anna's story. Many readers recommend reading with a character list for the Russian names.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Anna Karenina about?
A married woman's affair with an officer, contrasted with another couple's path to marriage.
Who wrote it?
Leo Tolstoy.
When was it published?
1878 as a book, after serial publication.
Which translation should I choose?
Pevear and Volokhonsky, Rosamund Bartlett and Constance Garnett are popular.
Is it hard to read?
It is long, but the story is clear and gripping.
Is it a tragedy?
Anna's story is, while Levin's is hopeful.
How long is it?
About 800 pages.
What should I read next?
Try Madame Bovary or War and Peace.
Which book here is best for romantic disillusion?
Try Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, which suits readers looking for romantic disillusion.
Which book here is best for gothic romance?
Try Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which suits readers looking for gothic romance.
Which book here is best for female independence?
Try The Awakening by Kate Chopin, which suits readers looking for female independence.
Which book here is best for witty romance?
Try Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which suits readers looking for witty romance.
Which book here is best for short and powerful?
Try The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, which suits readers looking for short and powerful.
Which book here is best for society and desire?
Try The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, which suits readers looking for society and desire.