From 1875-'77 Leo Tolstoy wrote and published one of the greatest romantic works in serial installments. The tragic story of Anna Karenina caught the imagination of the Russian public as the great count of literature wove intricate tales of love and woe. 

Regarded by many as the pinnacle of realist fiction, Anna Karenina managed to capture the reality of aristocratic life in Tsarists Russia and the hurdles and pitfalls of social life. Susan Cahill talks with celebrated author, academic, and translator Rosamund Bartlett about what exactly makes Tolstoy such a literary masterpiece and why people are still enamoured by the tragic tale of Anna and her forbidden love, Count Vronsky.

This week's music to read to,

The show opens and ends with Barra by Overhead the Albatross with Sobre a Brevidade da Vida by Andrei Machado bringing part one to a close.