Lolita

Even by the standards of genius, Vladimir Nabokov's work habits were odd. He wrote much of Lolita in the backseat of the family car, a black 1946 Oldsmobile. (He said it was the only spot in America where he wasn't plagued by noise and...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Dmitri Nabokov, Oldsmobile, and Montreux, Switzerland

...of Laura" -- written on a stack of 138 note cards -- is expected to go for up to $700,000 on Dec. 4 at Christie's. Nabokov, the author of "Lolita," hated "Laura" and wanted the manuscript destroyed. NYU gals play peek-a-boo with Jude Law

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, Original of Laura, and Jude Law

...little light or air. Other, that is, than the very depictions of youthful female beauty that so obsessed Nabokov in Lolita, in his short proto-Lolita novella The Enchanter, and here: She was an extravagantly slender girl. Her ribs showed.

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Dmitri Nabokov, Suicide, and Rum

...son Dmitri had after years of prevarication opted to publish the 138 index cards left behind by the author of Pale Fire, Ada and Lolita on his death in 1977. Now, with a fanfare and palaver that would not disgrace a second coming,...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Kingsley Amis, Penguin, and Moniza Alvi

Wonderful as these books were (and are), none sold particularly well -- and none quite prepared the world for the one that opens: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul." Originally brought out in Paris by a publisher...

In this article: Dmitri Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Kinbote, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, and Pale Fire

...his death in Switzerland in 1977. She went against his wishes earlier and did the world an invaluable service when she kept his "Lolita" manuscript out of the incinerator. In that case, her fortitude ensured the survival of one of the...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Tax, Don Quixote, and Dmitri Nabokov

...books with his own drawings. Many of his novels reveled in sexuality, including "Ekaterina" (1993), which turned Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" on its head by depicting a female protagonist's pursuit of prepubescent boys. Mr. Harington wrote...

In this article: Donald Harington, Arkansas, University of Arkansas, and William Faulkner

...isn't a novel as complete or as polished as his other books. Now Nabokov is recognized as a master novelist; his greatest accomplishment, "Lolita," frequently tops best-of lists. Even in the moment, it was possible to see that with...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, Vintage, The Original of Laura, Cornell, Los Angeles Times, and Peyton Place

...is the Nabokovian crux. The second fundamental point is the description of a recurring dream that shadows Humbert after Lolita has flown (she absconds with the cynically carnal Quilty). It is also proof of the fact that style, that prose...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Pnin, Literature, Transparent Things, and Finnegans Wake

...what many hope will be an unexpected glimpse of his genius. The Russian-born writer's widow Vera had already saved his most famous work, "Lolita," from the flames, and their son Dmitry, 75, followed suit by preserving "Laura." Yet the...

In this article: Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura, Cornell University, Literature, BBC Television, and Franz Kafka