''Anna Karenina'' is a four-part British television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1877 novel of the same name. It was directed by David Blair and aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 from 9 to 30 May 2000 and in America on PBS '' Masterpiece Theatre'' in 2001.

Plot

Anna is travelling by train from St. Petersburg to Moscow to visit her brother, Stiva. Stiva is married to Dolly; however, he has been having an affair with the governess of his children and needs Anna's help to repair his marriage. Anna too is married, to Karenin, an important official, with an 8-year-old son. At the end of the journey she meets Count Vronsky, the son of her travelling companion on the train, and in due course she and Vronsky begin an affair. In the meantime, Stiva's friend Constantine Levin courts Dolly's younger sister Kitty. Levin and Kitty are both unmarried. But Kitty is initially attracted to Vronksy and rejects Levin's first proposal; he leaves Moscow and returns to his farm in the countryside. Nikolai, Constantine Levin's brother, cohabits with a former prostitute named Masha and is constantly in debt.

Cast

* Helen McCrory as Anna * Kevin McKidd as Vronsky * Stephen Dillane as Karenin * Mark Strong as Stiva * Amanda Root as Dolly * Douglas Henshall as Levin (Constantine "Kostya") * Paloma Baeza as Kitty *

Abigail Cruttenden Abigail Lucy Cruttenden (born 23 March 1968) is an English actress. Cruttenden played opposite Sean Bean as his character Richard Sharpe's wife Jane in several episodes of the TV series '' Sharpe.'' In 2007, Cruttenden joined the cast from the ...

as Betsy * Paul Rhys as Nikolai * Gillian Barge as Princess Shcherbatskya * Malcolm Sinclair as Prince Shcherbatsky * Victoria Carling as Annushka

Reception

It received a positive review from Mark Law in ''The Guardian''.

External links

*
''Masterpiece'' official page

References

{{Anna Karenina 2000 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series Channel 4 television dramas Adaptations of works by Leo Tolstoy Television series set in the 19th century Television shows based on Russian novels 2000s British television miniseries Television series by All3Media English-language television shows Television shows set in Russia Television series set in the 1870s