Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy – 1886 | First English Edition, Dole Translation

The first English edition of Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy’s tragic novel about love, happiness, and societal expectations, was first published in 1886 by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. The story centers around a married Russian socialite’s passionate but ill-fated affair with a military officer, and the novel’s exploration of desire has fascinated readers since its publication. American writer William Faulkner called it the greatest novel of all time. This first American edition includes all eight parts of the novel, translated by T.Y. Crowell’s literary advisor, Nathan Haskell Dole.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Anna Karénina: in eight parts
• Author: Leo Tolstoy
• Contributor: Nathan Haskell Dole (Translator)
• Publisher: New York, T.Y. Crowell & Co.
• Edition: First American Edition, 1886
• Binding: Original publisher’s brown cloth with gilt embossing
• Format: Octavo (8vo), single volume
• Size: ~ 7.75in x 5.5in (19.5cm x 14cm)
• Collation: [2], viii, 5–773, [3]
• Contents Include:
  • Complete English translation of Anna Karenina
  • Preface by Nathan Haskell Dole
• Provenance: Handwritten ownership inscription of Mrs. E. S. Hutchinson Gatch; Katherine from Elias, 1888

Condition:

Very Good. Original brown cloth shows light wear. The spine has chipped at head and tail, and corners are frayed. Text block is shaken but intact, and internally the pages are clean with mild age-toning.

Why Collect This?

• First English-language edition of the novel
• Released before the first British edition
• All eight parts of Anna Karenina in one complete volume

Item Number: #31068