Books

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. 1886 Russian language version in 3 volumes. I believe this to be the second Russian language edition but am not certain of this. 1886 also appears to be the year that English language translations were first released in the UK and USA. Volume 1 is signed on the title page by Charles Sarolea, an accomplished philologist, linguist and the first professor of French at Edinburgh University. He wrote extensively on Russia and other countries, and was the Belgian Consul General to the UK for many years. These 3 volumes are in good condition. Size 17.5cm (h) x 13.5cm (w). Volume 1: 366pp. The red cloth boards are in good condition. The cloth to the front board has partially lifted from the board itself across approxiately one third of the front board, and for a few centimeters adjacent to the bottom edge of the back board. There are 3 ink marks to the back board, the largest being approximatly 1cm x 1 cm. The red cloth is somewhat shelf-worn and discoloured. The spine is further discoloured perhaps from being kept in a smokey room. The gilt titling remains relatively bright. The board corners and spine top and bottom edges are rubbed and curled. The closed page block is showing shelfwear discolouration to the top edge, with light small foxing marks to the front and bottom edges of the closed page block. There is a hand written 'ESC' on the bottom edge of the closed page block. The pages are quite heavily foxed. There are some light pencil marks to some of the first few pages, including a short list of pencil-written words on pages 6 and 7 - perhaps by Charles Sarolea. The front pastedown page has a monogram bookplate pasted onto it stating 'ESC' in capitals, with 'Ascot Lodge, Ascot, Berks.' below. The title page, which holds the signature of Charles Sarolea, also holds the hand-written monogram 'ESC'. Volume 2: 479pp. The red cloth boards are in good condition. The cloth to the front board has partially lifted from the board itself across the top edge of the front board. There is 1 small ink mark to the back board. The red cloth is somewhat shelf-worn and discoloured. The spine is partially sunned and discoloured perhaps from being kept in a smokey room. The gilt titling remains relatively bright. The board corners and spine top and bottom edges are rubbed and curled. The closed page block is showing shelfwear discolouration to the top edge, with light small foxing marks to the front and bottom edges of the closed page block. There is a hand written 'ESC' on the bottom edge of the closed page block. The pages are quite heavily foxed. The front pastedown page has a monogram bookplate pasted onto it stating 'ESC' in capitals, with 'Ascot Lodge, Ascot, Berks.' below. There is a handwritten line above the bookplate in pen stating 'Anna Karenina 3 vols and one French translation'. The title page holds the hand-written monogram 'ESC'. Volume 3: 400pp. The red cloth boards are in good condition. There is 1 small ink mark to the top right corner of the front board. The red cloth is somewhat shelf-worn and discoloured. The spine is partially sunned and discoloured perhaps from being kept in a smokey room. The gilt titling remains relatively bright. The board corners and spine top and bottom edges are rubbed and curled. The closed page block is showing shelfwear discolouration to the top edge, with light small foxing marks to the front and bottom edges of the closed page block. There is a hand written 'ESC' on the bottom edge of the closed page block. The pages are quite heavily foxed. The front pastedown page has a monogram bookplate pasted onto it stating 'ESC' in capitals, with 'Ascot Lodge, Ascot, Berks.' below. There is a handwritten line above the bookplate in pen stating 'Anna Karenina 3 vols and one French'. The title page holds the hand-written monogram 'ESC'. There is no dust jacket with this edition. If you would like to see further photos, please do ask.

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Many authors consider Anna Karenina the greatest work of literature ever written, and Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. It deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and rural vs. city life. The complex novel unfolds against the backdrop of 19th-century Russian high society and tells the tragic story of a married aristocrat and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The novel explores a diverse range of topics throughout its pages and profoundly influences the genres of realist and romantic fiction.