Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina (1873-1877) to portray his own times, even adding references to newsworthy events as they occurred. The vivacious, beautiful Anna chooses her lover over her husband. Meanwhile, a parallel story line follows the courtship, marriage, and early married life of a young couple, the Levins. Such ordinary life events as childbirth, harvest, and death by illness are described in detail as never before in world literature. Although Anna eventually commits suicide by falling under a train, Tolstoy loves her and meticulously records her life from her point of view.