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Which Translation of Anna Karenina Should You Read? (Bartlett vs P&V, Garnett vs Maude) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-20 17:59:09
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2026-06
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Today we're doing a blind Tolstoy Taste Test, so you can find out which translation of Anna Karenina YOU enjoy the most.

We're sampling a great passage rendered by the following four translators:

I will read the same wonderful passage in all four versions, but will not tell you which translation is which until the end.

So mark down and rank your impressions after you hear each one - and let me know which one you ultimately prefer!

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Which Translation of Anna Karenina Should You Read? (Bartlett vs P&V)

📚 Read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with Hardcore Literature: https://www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature/about ———————————— 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/70IZA24... (Subscribe to the Hardcore Literature Podcast on iTunes & Spotify) 🏫 https://hardcore-university.teachable... (Hardcore University, Exam Preparation Courses) ✍🏼 https://benjaminmcevoy.com My Personal Website ———————————— Hardcore Literature Lecture Series ———————————— 📔Contents Page: https://cutt.ly/CmNhRY3 🎖️ War and Peace: https://cutt.ly/U3nzGma 🎭 Shakespeare Project: https://cutt.ly/B3nxHH7 🐳 Moby Dick: https://cutt.ly/K3nzVKf ☄️ Blood Meridian: https://cutt.ly/P3nz6Qp 🍂 Wuthering Heights: https://cutt.ly/N3nxxYt 🇮🇪 Ulysses: https://cutt.ly/x3nxQmN 🚂 Anna Karenina: https://cutt.ly/vmNhAWv 💀 Crime and Punishment: https://cutt.ly/rmNhFt5 ⚓ Persuasion: https://cutt.ly/amNhX7b ☕ In Search of Lost Time: https://cutt.ly/5mNh8oD ⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: https://cutt.ly/UmNjrE3 🌸 Siddharta: https://cutt.ly/YmNjuzi 🎠 Don Quixote: https://cutt.ly/cmNjoK4 ❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: https://cutt.ly/nmNlW7V 🇫🇷 Les Misérables: https://cutt.ly/J3YixoA 🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: https://cutt.ly/nToAQQ3 🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: https://cutt.ly/9ToAybt 📖 Middlemarch Serial Reading: https://tinyurl.com/45rv965c ———————————— Happy reading! ———————————— Recommended Book Links ———————————— Pevear & Volokhonsky Anna Karenina: https://amzn.to/3pFgQEj Rosamund Bartlett: https://amzn.to/3aEmm5L Constance Garnett: https://amzn.to/3bqeyUd Aylmer & Louise Maude: https://amzn.to/3pBn9IL

Comments

Jensea Storie

P&V … so so eloquent…poetic….silk… Bartlett: the most vivid images👌

Maria Hall

Ben- it’s December 2023 and I’m adventuring into your past posts… I LOVE THIS! You’re a busy person, but I think it would be so fun to have videos like this with other versions of translated works on the booklist.

Cooper Larson

From the beautiful passage you read here, Ben, I decided on starting with the Maude translation which I found at a nice used bookstore for $3. I had no glaring issues with the translation, but something felt a bit off. Around 60 pages, I decided to go back to the bookstore and sample the P&V translation. It instantly clicked for me what was off about the Maude translation: the dialogue. I stand by my original decision based on this taste-test because I do believe that Maude’s descriptions of the physical world are slightly more elegant and pleasing to my mind’s eye. But the dialogue is MUCH smoother in the P&V version. And since that’s why we read a book like AK, I decided to continue with the P&V. At the end of Part 1 and loving it!

Clare Shepherd

I preferred the Bartlett, peewits do not "wail" nor do lambs have "bowlegs".actually apart from that, I liked Bartlett most and P&V next. Sometimes P&V are rather clumsy in their choice of English words, particularly in The Brothers Karamazov, however, I thought their description here was rather fine.

Viki Sigler

My favorite by far is P & V. I wrote down notes from all 4 translations, and #1 was my pick. I wrote "It painted a visual picture for me." That was my immediate response. The other 3 seemed too plain and choppy. Good thing I had already purchased the P&V translation.

Fiona Wang

My rankings were (1) Garnett and Maude, (2) P&V, and (3) Bartlett. Having English as a second language, though, I have never been able to comprehend as much when listening to a book. So it is entirely possible that if I had read the passages instead, I may have come up with a different ranking. In fact, I had placed Garnett and Maude at the top precisely because they were easier to understand. While P&V was quite beautiful, I struggled to picture the scene in my head. That said, I do have the P&V edition and I have no intentions of switching!

hardcoreliterature
>>54068888

Thanks for sharing, Fiona! I must say, I did think the Maude was rather beautiful as I was reading it aloud. Garnett is certainly the easiest to understand, which I think is part of the reason it has been the most popular one for so long. When it comes to Chekhov, I found myself preferring Garnett over P&V. And agree with your opinion that P&V is beautiful but difficult to picture the scene - they are often closer to poetry than prose, and the rhythm can feel a bit abrupt/archaic!

Nina C.

I am reading it in German but after the P&V I am contemplating if I should buy that one as well and read it parallel.. What I find very fascinating is that in my German translation „morning“ wasn‘t mentioned with one word but you knew that he was talking about it. With that being said I am liking the P&V one the most because to me it was the most vivid explanation. While hearing it, it felt like a painting was being made and at the end the painting magically evolved into this real scene you are witnessing.

Gillian Trethowan

I've only listened to these readings once - so was being led by my 'gut' - trying not to 'overthink' it.... (1) which was P & V struck me as being too 'arch' or laboured... and sounded 'dated' - so I thought it was Garnett! (2) which was Aylmer and Louise I thought was Bartlett I thought had an attractive rhythm to it....(3) and ironically I thought this one was Garnett - but it was P & V. (4) I thought was P & V, but was

Gillian Trethowan

.... sorry.... Bartlett, I liked (4) the best - for the detail, and the feeling of cohesiveness it gave me. A very interesting 'experiment'.... just goes to show....!

Laura MacNeil

I immediately liked (2) best - which is fortunate as that's the translation I have on my shelves from years ago. I read the Maude War & Peace last year and enjoyed it so I guess I'm tuned in to their style....

hardcoreliterature
>>54115610

Amazing! I've noticed whenever I do these blind "tests", it's really difficult know who is who - which, I think, gives less credence to reputation and puts the power back into the reader's hands. It's up to us to decide who we like!

hardcoreliterature

That's very cool, Laura. I have the Maude War & Peace too, and I must say I really enjoyed their rhythm as I was reading them aloud.

Ena Rusnjak Markovic
>>54732581

I regret only giving p&v 8/10, now! I’m definitely going with that one, even though the Bartlett is smoother, I love the attempts to translate the idiosyncratic images. As soon as you finished the 4th version I knew that one must be the Bartlett and the 1st p&v, because of your description of them! Unfortunately, the Maude felt really awkward to me, the images lost their electricity, the chosen words seemed to lack heart and meaning. It felt like a really flat translation attempt as soon as I started listening. Great exercise, thank you! I will probably end up getting both P&V and Bartlett, now.

Chrissy

What a fascinating experiment! I gave P&V a 9/10 because it sounded so beautiful. Maude (the one I’m currently reading) 7/10. Good, but not amazing. Garnett 4/10, to me it seemed a bit clunky compared to the first 2. Bartlett 8/10. It read very smoothly, and probably deserved a 9/10 as well. You are spot on, Ben, when you say it reads like an English novel! As a Tolstoy newbie, I probably would have chosen Bartlett for my first read of AK, had I not already owned the Maude translation. It would be so much easier to read!