SSC
Who wrote the novel 'Anna Karenina'?
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Answer: Option C — Leo Tolstoy
Detailed Solution
"Anna Karenina" is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in instalments from 1875 to 1877 and as a book in 1878. It is regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written.
About the novel:
It opens with the famous line: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
It tells the tragic story of Anna Karenina, a married aristocratic woman in St. Petersburg, who falls in love with Count Alexei Vronsky. Her affair leads to social rejection, jealousy and despair, and she finally throws herself under a train.
A parallel story follows Konstantin Levin, a thoughtful landowner who marries Kitty and searches for the meaning of life, faith and work. Levin is partly based on Tolstoy himself.
The novel explores love, marriage, society, family, faith and rural life in 19th-century Russia.
About Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910):
- He was born at Yasnaya Polyana, his family estate near Tula, Russia.
- His other great novel, "War and Peace" (1869), describes Russian society during the Napoleonic wars.
Later in life, he turned to a radical Christian philosophy based on love, simplicity and non-violent resistance to evil. His book "The Kingdom of God Is Within You" (1894) deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi and Tolstoy exchanged letters, and in 1910 Gandhi named his community in South Africa "Tolstoy Farm".
His other works include "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", "Resurrection" and "What Is Art?". His "A Confession" (My Confession) describes his spiritual crisis.
Other great Russian writers:
- Fyodor Dostoevsky: "Crime and Punishment", "The Brothers Karamazov", "The Idiot".
- Anton Chekhov: short stories and plays such as "The Cherry Orchard" and "The Seagull".
- Ivan Turgenev: "Fathers and Sons".
- Alexander Pushkin: "Eugene Onegin".
- Maxim Gorky: "Mother".
Why not the other options?
- ✗Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote "Crime and Punishment".
- ✗Anton Chekhov wrote "The Cherry Orchard".
- ✗Ivan Turgenev wrote "Fathers and Sons".
Quick tip
Remember: Leo Tolstoy (Russia) = "War and Peace" (1869) and "Anna Karenina" (1877); influenced Gandhi ("The Kingdom of God Is Within You"; Tolstoy Farm 1910); "Crime and Punishment" = Dostoevsky.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.