Cengage Learning

Dictionary of Literary Biography: Vladimir Nabokov: A Documentary Volume

  • Series Name: Dictionary of Literary Biography Series
  • Volume 369
  • Editor: Matthew Beedham
  • Published By:
  • ISBN-10: 0787696447
  • ISBN-13: 9780787696443
  • Shipping Weight: 3.10 lbs ( 1.41 kgs)
  • 488 Pages | Print | Hardcover
  • Previous Editions: 2012, 2012, 2012
  • © 2013 | Published
  • Newer Edition Available

About

Overview

This award-winning multi-volume series is dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers, while satisfying the standards of librarians, teachers and scholars. Dictionary of Literary Biography provides reliable information in an easily comprehensible format, while placing writers in the larger perspective of literary history.

Dictionary of Literary Biography systematically presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.

This product is part of:

Series

Dictionary of Literary Biography Series

This award-winning multi-volume series is dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers, while satisfying the standards of librarians, teachers and scholars. DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY provides reliable information in an easily comprehensible format, while placing writers in the larger perspective of literary history. DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY systematically presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.

Features and Benefits

  • Each DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY volume has an expert volume editor responsible for planning the volume, selecting the figures for inclusion, and assigning the entries.
  • Volume editors are also responsible for surveying the major periodicals and literary and intellectual movements for their volumes, as well as lists of further readings.
  • To enhance the reader's understanding of the author by a knowledge of his or her environment, DLB volumes include not only drawings, paintings, and photographs of authors, often at various stages of their careers, but also illustrations of their families and places where they have lived.
  • Title pages are regularly reproduced in facsimile along with dust jackets for modern authors. Manuscripts and letters are included when feasible.

Contributors

Contributors

  • Matthew Beedham

Table of Contents

Plan of the Series.
Introduction.
Acknowledgments.
Permissions.
Works by Vladimir Nabokov.
Vladimir Nabokov: A Chronology of His Career and Writings.
1. EARLY LIFE IN RUSSIA.
Remembering Life in Russia. "Fabulous Fullness": Elena Ivanovana Nabokov at Vyra--Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited. Facsimile: Map of the family lands outside of St. Petersburg. "Great Gifts": On Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov--Speak, Memory Sidebar: "My First Thought Was for the Butterflies". "Averse to Joining": Politics at Tenishev School and Home--Speak, Memory. "A Certain Pavilion": After a Storm on a Summer Day in 1914--Speak, Memory. On the Revolution. "A Few Things Which I Think Are True": Nabokov to Edmund Wilson, 23 February 1948. Sidebar: His Father's Library Facsimile: Cover for a notebook of poems. Facsimile: A chess problem from a Crimea notebook.
2. A RUSSIAN EMIGRÉ AUTHOR.
Life in Exile. "Gay and Amusing": Nabokov at Cambridge--Lucie Léon Noel. Facsimile: Cover for collection of poems written in England. "Across the Dark Sky of Exile": On the Life of an Emigré Novelist--Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited. Sidebar: "A Precious Detail". Contemporary Reception of the Russian Writings. "Fine Literary Language": Review of Mashen' ka--Mikhail Osorgin, Sovremennye Zapiski, 1926. "Elegant Picturesqueness and Expressiveness": Review of "Terror"--Iulii Isaevich Aikhenval'd, Rul', 2 February 1927. "Blooming, Ripening Creativity": Review of Vozvrashchenie Chorba--A. Savel'ev, Rul', 31 December 1929. "Russian Moods and Western Forms": Sirin's Novels through 1930--Nikolay Andreyev, Nov, 1930. "A Place among the Most Provocative Writers": Sirin's European Reputation in 1936--Vladimir Weidle, Krug, 1936. On Sirin--Vladislav Khodasevich, 1937. Nabokov in Russian Émigré Criticism--Ludmila A. Foster. Critics on the Russian Writings. Notes on Nabokov as a Russian Writer--Gleb Struve. The Artist as Failure in Nabokov's Early Prose--Andrew Field. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in Kamera Obskura. Illusion, Reality, and Parody in Nabokov's Plays--Simon Karlinsky. "Spring in Fialta": The Choice that Mimics Change--Barbara Heldt Monter. Facsimile: Revisions to a page in Winifred Roy's Camera Obscura. The 1930s. Nabokov in the Thirties--Nina Berberova. Sidebar: "An Eraser-Capped Pencil on Index Cards". "Our Boy's Infancy"--Speak, Memory. "We Saw Him Again in Paris"--Lucie Léon Noel. Sidebar: "Beautifully Young and Naif". Sidebar: "Hard to Choose Better".
3. BECOMING AN AMERICAN WRITER.
Sidebar: "Dear Bunny". The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. "Diabolically Clever": Review of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight--Iris Barry, New York Herald Tribune Books, 25 January 1942. The Mirrors of Sebastian Knight--Charles Nicol. Sidebar: "My Museum". Facsimile: First page of syllabus of Russian Literature in Translation. Sidebar: "A Quite Unexpected Brew". "The Author's Special Intention: A Study of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight"--Anthony Olcott. Facsimile: First page for a draft of Conclusive Evidence. Sidebar: "Spring Is Coming on Rollerskates". Facsimile: First page of an April 1947 letter to Allen Tate. Bend Sinister. Comic Strip Dictator: Review of Bend Sinister--Richard Watts, The New Republic, 7 July 1947. Puppet under Tyrant: Review of Bend Sinister--Nathan L. Rothman, Saturday Review of Literature, 2 August 1947. "Not Sufficiently Rewarding": Review of Bend Sinister--V. S. Naipaul, The New Statesman, 26 March 1960. "Through the Screen of Farce": Review of Bend Sinister--Malcolm Bradbury, Punch, 20 April 1960. Aesthetic Bliss: Review of Bend Sinister--Frank Kermode, Encounter, June 1960. Facsimile: Table of contents page of a story collection with Nabokov's grades. Bend Sinister: Nabokov's Political Dream--L. L. Lee. Facsimile: Notes on the galleys of Conclusive Evidence. Sidebar: A Matter of Style. Nabokov in Academe Nabokov at Cornell--Morris Bishop. Facsimile: Note about a student on an index card. Facsimile: Pages from teaching copy of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Facsimile: Sketches for characters in Anna Karenina. Facsimile: Map of Sotherton Court for Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Facsimile: First page from teaching copy of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Facsimile: Map of James Joyce's Ulysses. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in Conclusive Evidence. Sidebar: " 'Evgenii Onegin' as I Have It in Mind". Nabokov as Teacher—Ross Wetzsteon.
4. LOLITA AND THE LAST YEARS IN AMERICA.
Sidebar: The Sources of Lolita. Facsimile: An index-card note for Lolita. Sidebar: "The Not-Quite-Perfect Crime". Facsimile: An index-card note from a gun catalogue for Lolita. Lolita. "I Wish I Could Like the Book Better": Edmund Wilson to Nabokov, 30 November 1954. "A Brown Package Tied with Hempen Cord"--Julian Moynahan. Sidebar: "A Foul Little Flurry". The Perilous Magic of Nymphets: Review of Lolita--John Hollander, The Partisan Review, Fall 1956. Facsimile: Covers for the two volumes of Nabokov's copy of the first edition of Lolita. A Preface to Lolita--F. W. Dupee, The Anchor Review, Summer 1957. "I Shall Be Always Grateful to You": Nabokov to Maurice Girodias, 3 August 1957. The Last Lover: Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita"--Lionel Trilling, Encounter, October 1958. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in Lolita. Simply Lolita: Review of Lolita--Walter Allen, The New Statesman, 7 November 1959. Lolita: The Springboard of Parody—Alfred Appel Jr. Pnin. "Shorter Than You Expected": Nabokov to Pascal Covici, 29 August 1955. "A Character New to Literature": Nabokov to Covici, 29 September 1955. "Somewhat Accidental": Review of Pnin--Howard Nemerov, Kenyon Review, Spring 1957. "The Eternal Refugee": Review of Pnin--Pamela Hansford Johnson, The New Statesman, 21 September 1957. The Double Pnin--Ambrose Gordon Jr. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in Pnin. Facsimile: First page of a lecture, "Russian Writers, Censors and Readers". Sidebar: "Literature and Lepidoptera". Invitation to a Beheading. Vintage Nabokov: Review of Invitation to a Beheading--Paul Pickrel, Harper's, November 1959. Nabokov's Beheading: Review of Invitation to a Beheading--John Wain, The New Republic, 21 December 1959. Ruffling Their Hair: Review of Invitation to a Beheading--Times Literary Supplement, 10 June 1960. Laughter in the Dark. New Sidelights on a Lepidopterist: Review of Laughter in the Dark, Poems, and The Song of Igor's Campaign--Times Literary Supplement, 7 April 1961. Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. "A Script for Lolita": The Nabokovs to Stanley Kubrick, 31 December 1959. Facsimile: A revised typescript page from Nabokov's screenplay for Lolita. Pistols and Cherry Pies: Lolita from Page to Screen--Dan E. Burns, Literature Film Quarterly, 1984. Facsimile: Opening scene of Nabokov's screenplay for Lolita. Sidebar: A New York Premiere
5. AT LE MONTREUX PALACE HOTEL.
Pale Fire. A Bolt from the Blue: Review of Pale Fire--Mary McCarthy, The New Republic, 4 June 1962. Sidebar: "Constructed through Footnotes". Facsimile: Index cards for Pale Fire. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in Pale Fire. Virtuosity Rewarded, or Dr. Kinbote's Revenge: Review of Pale Fire--Dwight Macdonald, Partisan Review, Summer 1962. Zemblances: Review of Pale Fire--Frank Kermode, The New Statesman, 9 November 1962. Sidebar: "The Artist's Art". The Gift. Writer Ranges over His Three-Part Life: Review of The Gift--J. K. H., The Windsor Star, 8 June 1963. Nabokov's Gift: An Apprenticeship in Creativity--Anna Maria Salehar. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in The Gift. Facsimile: Beginning of one of Nabokov's lepidoptera articles. Eugene Onegin. Problems of Translation: 'Onegin' in English--Vladimir Nabokov, Partisan Review, Autumn 1955. Nabokov's Pushkin: Review of Eugene Onegin--Christopher Ricks, New Statesman, 25 December 1964. The Strange Case of Pushkin and Nabokov: Review of Eugene Onegin--Edmund Wilson, New York Review of Books, 15 July 1965. Sidebar: A Reply to Wilson. Nabokov's Grand Folly: Review of Eugene Onegin--Clive James New Statesman, 8 July 1977. Facsimile: Revised pages from the dedication copy of Eugene Onegin. The Defense. Grandmaster Nabokov: Review of The Defense --John Updike, The New Republic, 26 September 1964. Among the Barbarians: Review of The Defense--Stuart Hampshire, New Statesman, 6 November 1964. "The Novel as Verbal Construct": Review of The Defense--Malcolm Bradbury, Spectator, 13 November 1964. "Remote Affection and Derisive Pity": Review of The Defense--Stephen Wall, The Listener, 19 November 1964. Sidebar: "Two Ideas of My Own": Nabokov and Alfred Hitchcock. The Eye. Nabokov as Novice--Stephen Koch, The Nation, 17 January 1966. Sidebar: "The Forces of Imagination". Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in The Eye. Despair. Nabokov in Time--Quentin Anderson, The New Republic, 4 June 1966. Facsimile: Revised pages from the first translation of Despair
Looking-Glass Death: Review of Despair--Times Literary Supplement, 28 July 1966. Despair and the Lust for Immortality--Claire Rosenfield. An Artist's Memory Beats All Other Kinds: An Essay on Despair--Stephen Suagee. Sidebar: A Day in the Life of Vladimir and Elena. King, Queen, Knave. Bright Brute: Review of King, Queen, Knave--Gillian Tindall, New Statesman, 4 October 1968. A New Deck for Nabokov's Knaves--Carl R. Proffer. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in King, Queen, Knave. Sidebar: "The Great Theme in Nabokov".
6. LAST WORKS.
Ada. In the Mind of Nabokov: Review of Ada--Alfred Kazin, The Saturday Review, 10 May 1969. "Brittle Virtues": Review of Ada—Mary Ellman, Yale Review, 1969. Nabokov's Ardor: Review of Ada--Robert Alter, Commentary, August 1969. Facsimile: End paper and half title of Nabokov's heavily marked copy of Ada. Nabokov's Waterloo: Review of Ada--Times Literary Supplement, 2 October 1969. The Spiral of Time in Ada--Nancy Anne Zeller, A Book of Things about Vladimir Nabokov, 1974. Sidebar: "Of Time and Pain". A Festschrift for Nabokov. Tribute by Herbert Gold. Mr. Nabokov's Tent--Hortense Calisher. Sidebar: "Most Attractive". Tribute by Richard Gilman. Facsimile: Inscription for Véra in the German translation of "Collected Stories". Facsimile: One of Nabokov's chess problems. Tribute by Alfred Kazin. The Last Russian Novels. "Slight but Appealing": Review of Mary--David J. Gordon, The Yale Review, Spring 1971. Stealing across the Border: Review of Glory--Times Literary Supplement, 24 March 1972. Facsimile: First page of Nabokov's introduction for Mary. Transparent Things. Mirrors for Immortality: Review of Transparent Things--Robert Alter, Saturday Review of Education, 11 November 1972. Facsimile: First page of a revised typescript for Transparent Things. A Personal View of Nabokov--Joyce Carol Oates, Saturday Review of the Arts, January 1973. Sidebar: "The Work He Was Born to Do". Russian Transparencies--Simon Karlinsky, Saturday Review of the Arts, January 1973. Look at the Harlequins! "While Criticules Continue to Carp": Review of Look at the Harlequins!--Saul Maloff, The New Republic, 28 December 1974. Out of Style: Review of Look at the Harlequins!--Martin Amis, New Statesman, 25 April 1975. Sidebar: Nabokov and James Bond.
7. AN ARTIST APART.
Reflections on Nabokov. Dark Laughter--Martin Amis, New Statesman , 8 July 1977. Sidebar: "The Author's Mind". VN – RIP--William F. Buckley Jr., National Review, 22 July 1977. "Nabokov and the Art of Exile"--Ellen Pifer, Critical Essays on Vladimir Nabokov, 1984. Sidebar: Nabokov at the Movies. The Original of Laura. "Shored against His Ruins"--David Lodge, The Literary Review, December 2009/January 2010. Facsimile: An index card for The Original of Laura.
Works about Vladimir Nabokov.
Index.