Viv Groskop: The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature

To all my former colleagues at Russian Vogue , especially Aliona Doletskaya and Vika Davydova: thank you. We worked together during a special time. Hat tip to Katya Pavlova, who gave me Pavel Basinsky’s book at a time when I really needed it. A deep bow to Mako Abashidze of the British Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Aliona Muchinskaya of Zima, who have had to know me for too long. Belated thanks to Dr Michael Tilby, Irina Kirillova, Natasha Franklin, Dr Jana Howlett and Dr Natasha Kurashova, who had an extremely beneficial impact on my learning of Russian at different, crucial times.

For support, friendship and inspiration while I’ve been writing this book: Maura Brickell, Elizabeth Day, Annie Deadman, Hannah Droy, Nicky Higby, Julia Hornsby, Sadie Jones, Jane Lindsey, Aleksandra Majerz, Sue Matthias, Alexandra Pringle, Lionel Shriver, Stefan Stern, Dixie Stewart, Kate Taylor. Thank you to Sam Baker and everyone at The Pool. Thanks always to my wonderful friends Jen, Dawn, Lucie, Susan and Claire. Sorry about the Russian food and all the vodka.

The biggest thanks are reserved for my family, especially my mum and dad and my sister Trudy, and all Groskops and Groscops everywhere, not least my ‘cousins’ who have come back into my life, Karen and Liz. I owe a debt I can never repay to Simon, Will, Vera and Jack. They are the real dearest teeny tiny little VIPs.

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First published 2017

Copyright © Viv Groskop, 2017

The moral right of the author has been asserted

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The publisher is grateful for permission to quote from: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Roger Cockrell (Alma Classics, 2015). Reprinted by permission of Alma Books Ltd; Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Penguin Classics, 2000). Translation and editorial copyright © Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 2000, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari (Vintage Classics, 2002). English translation copyright © Harvill, 1957, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; ‘Requiem’ and ‘The Guest’ from The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova , edited by Roberta Reeder and translated by Judith Hemschemeyer (Canongate, 2000). Reprinted by permission of Canongate Books; Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin, translated by Charles Johnston (Penguin Classics, 2003). Copyright © Charles Johnston, 1977, 1979, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Vintage Classics, 1993). Reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, translated by Julius West (Digireads, 2008). Reprinted by permission of Digireads.com; One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, translated by Ralph Parker (Penguin Modern Classics, 2000). Copyright © Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1962, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated by Michael Glenny (The Harvill Press, 1988). Copyright in the English translation © The Harvill Press and Harper and Row Publishers, 1967, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; Manuscripts Don’t Burn: Mikhail Bulgakov: A Life in Letters and Diaries by J. A. E. Curtis (Bloomsbury, 2012). Reprinted by kind permission of Julie Curtis; Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, translated by Robert A. Maguire (Penguin Classics, 2004). Copyright © Robert A. Maguire, 2004, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House; War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs (Penguin Classics, 2007). Translation and editorial material copyright © Anthony Briggs, 2005, reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful to be notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future editions of this book

ISBN: 978-0-241-98126-9