Tolstoy: The Kreutzer Sonata

The Kreutzer Sonata has become one of the most widely read and influential books ever written. Upon publication, it was immediately censored by the Russian authorities for its intense portrait of a man who suspects his wife of having an affair with her music partner, and overcome with jealousy, murdering her.


It reveals the astounding range, subtlety, artistry, and depth of a true original, Leo Tolstoy, author of War And Peace, Anna Karenina, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and countless other literary masterpieces.


Published in hundreds of editions and translated into virtually every modern language, it has not been out of print since 1889. 


* Contains extended historical context and a critical essay: My Father: A Cultural and Historical Perspective, by Count Ilyá Tolstoy.




“Moments of dramatic genius: a wracking vision of marriage as jealousy nourished, hatred voluptuously fed, rage taken for breakfast.”


—Elizabeth Hardwick