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Anna Karenina

By LEO N. TOLSTOI Condensation by MARY FRANCES RUSS "AND . . Anna had friendly relations with the society . . which with one hand lays fast hold of the court lest it fall absolutely into the demi-monde which its members affect to despise, but whose tastes are precisely similar." Anna Karenina's intimates were of this circle in St. Petersburg society. Practically forced into a loveless marriage with Aleksei Karenin, twenty years her senior, Anna had been a faithful wife for eight years. Karenin held a high official position and everything in his life was subordinated to his career. He was a tireless worker, and such social hours as he enjoyed were spent in circles best suited to his advancement, but his charming and adaptable wife made friends in all quarters. While a man of admirable character, Karenin had an utterly unlovable personality. He was very calm, cool, absolutely just, but love--warm, human love--was a stranger in his household. All the affection of Anna Karenina's heart was lavished on her seven-year-old son, Serozha, who adored his mother.