Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov 18991977 was a Russianborn multilingual novelist poet translator critic and entomologist considered the foremost of the post1917 émigré authors Born in Imperial Russia in 1899 Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian while living in Berlin He achieved international acclaim and prominence after moving to the United States where he began writing in English Nabokov was a professor of Russian literature at Cornell University from 1948 to 1959 before returning to Europe in 1961 where he settled in Montreux Switzerland Beginning with King Queen Knave 1928 his writing began to feature intricate stylistic devices His novels are principally concerned with the problem of art itself presented in various disguises as in Invitation to a Beheading 1938 Parody is frequent in The Gift 193738 and later works His novels written in English include the notorious best seller Lolita 1955 which brought him wealth and international fame Pale Fire 1962 and Ada 1969 His episodic novel about an émigré professor of Russian in the United States Pnin 1957 is to some extent based on his experiences as a literature professor His critical works include a monumental translation of and commentary on Aleksandr Pushkins Evgeny Onegin