“If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.”

Experience the sweeping grandeur of War and Peace and the heartbreaking intricacies of Anna Karenina, in these unabridged recordings of two masterworks by one of literature’s greatest storytellers.

War and Peace: This epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of several families against the backdrop of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812. It follows Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfilment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men. Balls and soirées alternate with councils of war and the machinations of statesmen and generals, scenes of violent battles with everyday human passions in a work whose extraordinary imaginative power has never been surpassed.

Anna Karenina: One of Tolstoy’s finest works, Anna Karenina is both a tragic love story and an exploration of the complexities of love, infidelity, and societal expectations in 19th-century Russia.

Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalises her family and the hypercritical and unforgiving society in which she lives and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake.

As Anna grapples with the consequences of her desires, intertwining narratives reveal the struggles of various characters navigating love, marriage, and morality as the author delves into deep philosophical questions about happiness, duty, and the search for meaning in a world filled with inevitable conflict.

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was a Russian novelist, philosopher, and social reformer, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of all time. He is best known for his epic novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, both celebrated for their intricate character development and profound exploration of moral dilemmas and human nature. In his later years, Tolstoy experienced a spiritual awakening which led him to reject materialism and embrace a life of simplicity, seeking to align his life with his beliefs about non-violence and compassion. Tolstoy's legacy endures not only through his literary masterpieces but also through his profound impact on literature and philosophy.

This audiobook is fully indexed. Once downloaded, each book and chapter will be listed so you can easily navigate to the individual section.