Vladimir Nabokov | |
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Nabokov in Montreux, 1973
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Born | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov 22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1899a Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
Died | 2 July 1977 Montreux, Switzerland |
(aged 78)
Occupation | Novelist, professor |
Literary movement | Modernism, Postmodernism |
Notable works |
The Defense (1930) The Gift (1938) Bend Sinister (1945-46) Lolita (1955) Pnin (1957) Pale Fire (1962) Speak, Memory (1936–1966) Ada, or Ardor (1968) |
Spouse | Vera Nabokov |
Children | Dmitri Nabokov |
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (/nəˈbɔːkəf, ˈnæbəˌkɔːf, -ˌkɒf/;Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr nɐˈbokəf], also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin; 22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1899c – 2 July 1977) was a Russian-American novelist and entomologist. His first nine novels were in Russian, but he achieved international prominence after he began writing English prose.
Nabokov's Lolita (1955), his most noted novel in English, was ranked fourth in the list of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels;Pale Fire (1962) was ranked 53rd on the same list, and his memoir, Speak, Memory (1951), was listed eighth on the publisher's list of the 20th century's greatest nonfiction. He was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction seven times.
Nabokov was an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems.