Vladimir Nabokov PDF
Preview Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov BarbaraWyllie Vladimir Nabokov TitlesintheseriesCriticalLivespresenttheworkofleadingcultural figuresofthemodernperiod.Eachbookexploresthelifeofthe artist,writer,philosopherorarchitectinquestionandrelatesitto theirmajorworks. Inthesameseries JeanGenet ErikSatie GertrudeStein StephenBarber MaryE.Davis LucyDaniel MichelFoucault GeorgesBataille SamuelBeckett DavidMacey StuartKendall AndrewGibson PabloPicasso LudwigWittgenstein PabloNeruda MaryAnnCaws EdwardKanterian DominicMoran FranzKafka OctavioPaz WilliamS.Burroughs SanderL.Gilman NickCaistor PhilBaker GuyDebord WalterBenjamin StéphaneMallarmé AndyMerrifield EstherLeslie RogerPearson MarcelDuchamp CharlesBaudelaire ConstantinBrancusi CarolineCros RosemaryLloyd SandaMiller JamesJoyce JeanCocteau AndrewGibson JamesS.Williams FrankLloydWright SergeiEisenstein RobertMcCarter MikeO’Mahony Jean-PaulSartre SalvadorDalí AndrewLeak MaryAnnCaws NoamChomsky SimonedeBeauvoir WolfgangB.Sperlich UrsulaTidd JorgeLuisBorges EdgarAllanPoe JasonWilson KevinJ.Hayes Vladimir Nabokov Barbara Wyllie reaktion books Formymum PublishedbyReaktionBooksLtd 33GreatSuttonStreet Londonec1v0dx,uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk Firstpublished2010 Copyright©BarbaraWyllie2010 Allrightsreserved Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem, ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical, photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermission ofthepublishers. PrintedandboundinGreatBritain bycpiAntonyRowe,Chippenham,Wiltshire BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Wyllie,Barbara VladimirNabokov.–(Criticallives) 1.Nabokov,VladimirVladimirovich,1899–1977. 2.Authors,American–20thcentury–Biography. 3.Authors,Russian–20thcentury–Biography. I.Title II.Series 813.5’4-dc22 isbn:9781861896605 Contents 1 ‘Nothingwilleverchange,nobodywilleverdie’ 7 2 Sirin,PartOne:‘Terror’toTheEye 44 3 Sirin,PartTwo:GlorytoTheGift 67 4 LookingtoOtherShores,1938–40 98 5 BecomingVladimirNabokov:BendSinistertoLolita 109 6 WorldFame:HollywoodandSwitzerland,1958–68 143 7 TheFinalArc,1969–77 171 References 187 SelectBibliography 215 Acknowledgements 221 PhotoAcknowledgements 223 Nabokovathislectern,completewithsuppliesofindexcardsandpencilswith rubbersontheend. 1 ‘Nothing will ever change, nobody will ever die’ 1 Inthepre-dawnhoursof22April1899,2inafirst-floorroomof agrandStPetersburgtownhouse,ElenaNabokovgavebirthtoa son.VladimirVladimirovichwasthefirstoffivechildren–Sergey (1900),Olga(1903),Elena(1906)andKirill(1911)–bornintoa familyofimmensewealthandhighsocialstanding.Hismother wasthedaughterofIvanRukavishnikov,amillionairephilanthro- pist.Hisfather,VladimirDmitrievich(V.D.)Nabokov,camefrom alonglineofprominentnoblementhatcouldbetracedbacktothe courtofIvantheTerribleandfurtherstilltoafourteenth-century Tartarprince.A‘GentlemanoftheImperialChamber’,hetrainedas alawyerandlecturedattheSchoolofJurisprudenceinStPetersburg. RenownedthroughoutRussiaandEuropeasaleadingcriminolo- gist,hespecializedinsexualcrime,controversiallycampaigning fortherightsofhomosexualsandtheprotectionofchildren. Vehementlyopposedtocapitalpunishmentandallformsofsocial andreligiousdiscrimination,hewasanoutspokenadvocateoflib- eralreform,publishingregularlyintheradicalpressbothinside andoutsideRussia. TheNabokovsenjoyedaculturedandcosmopolitanlife,witha socialnetworkthatincludedstatesmenandgenerals,artists,writers, actors,musiciansandoperastars.Winterswerespentattheiropulent homeinStPetersburg,summersattheirestatesome50milessouth ofthecity.Theretheyhadthreehousesattheirdisposal,twothat hadbelongedtoElena’sfather–Vyra,whichsheinherited,andthe 7 V.D.andElenaNabokov,1900.
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