Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection

When a nobleman named Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is called to serve on a jury, he's stunned to recognize the woman on trial: Katyusha Maslova, a maid he seduced and abandoned years earlier, now condemned as a prostitute and accused of murder. Overcome by guilt for setting her life on its ruinous course, he resolves to follow her into exile in Siberia and make amends—even by marrying her.

Our discussion will be open to most everything about Resurrection, except the trial in Book One, which we talked about in our first session

The top two translations are a 1916 translation by Louise Maude, available digitally for 51 cents on Kindle, and a 2009 translation by Antony Briggs. The latter has natural English phrasing and captures Tolstoy's realism and humor, and is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere.

In a way only Tolstoy could, Resurrection examines women's roles in society and the double standards of morality, particularly around sexual behavior.