About the Great Books series
The Great Books series was a Faculty of Arts public program launched in 2014 for lovers of literature. The series gave members a front row seat to learn about books that have shaped the way we see the world. After ten years and 100 books the program concluded in 2023. You can view the full booklist here.
The Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative is pleased to present ‘Great Books: bite size’ to showcase a selection of the recorded masterclasses from more recent years.
Videos and reading guides will be posted throughout the year for you to enjoy at your own pace or can be used to guide your local book club or reading group.
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates on masterclass releases, as well as other current public programs.
Happy reading!
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Nineteenth-century fiction creates the illusion of a fully realised social world – one that shapes the psychological development of its main characters. In many novels from this period, individual desires clash with dynastic imperatives, social conservatism, the careful negotiations of marriage and family life, and the traditional distribution of wealth.
Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (serialised between 1875 and 1877, then published in book form in 1878) is a pre-eminent example of this kind of fiction. It often features on lists of the greatest novels ever written, not least for its moving dramas of the self and its vividly realised scenes of urban and rural life.
