Photo and biography of Nabokov. Creation. Interesting Facts

Vladimir Nabokov is an outstanding writer. In addition, he was a poet, literary critic, entomologist, translator and teacher. Vladimir Nabokov is the only one of the domestic authors who created works in a foreign language (English), as well as in his native language. Nabokov's biography is detailed in this article.

His style is very juicy, diverse, unique and bright. The most famous works of Nabokov are the novel "Lolita", which has been screened several times already, as well as "Protection of Luzhin", "Mashenka", "Dar", "Invitation to the execution". All these works are interesting in their own way.

The circle of interests of Nabokov

It should be said that the circle of interests of this writer was very wide. Vladimir Nabokov made a great contribution to lepidopterology (this is a complex word called the entomology section that studies Lepidoptera). Twenty species of butterflies were discovered by Nabokov. The biography, briefly stated, does not require a detailed acquaintance with this hobby, because Vladimir Vladimirovich interests us first of all as a writer. However, it must be said that Vladimir Nabokov is the author of eighteen scientific articles. In his collection of butterflies there are 4324 copies. He gave it to the Zoological Museum belonging to the University of Lausanne.

In addition, the teaching of Russian and world literature marked a writer such as Vladimir Nabokov, biography. He owns translations into English of "The Lay of Igor's Host" and "Eugene Onegin". Also this writer was fond of chess, in which he was quite a strong player. He published several curious chess problems.

The Origin of Nabokov

Nabokov's biography begins on April 10, 1899, when he was born. He was a descendant of an aristocratic family. The father of the future writer was Nabokov Vladimir Dmitrievich, a famous politician. The family used three languages: native Russian, as well as French and English. Thus, Vladimir Vladimirovich, from a young age, perfectly mastered these languages. In his own words, Nabokov learned to read in English earlier than in Russian.

Childhood, education in Tenishevsky school

Early childhood of the future writer passed in prosperity and comfort in his parents' house, located in St. Petersburg, on Bolshaya Morskaya. Also, the family visited the country estate, which was located near Gatchina (photo above).

Vladimir Nabokov began his studies at the St. Petersburg Tenishevsky School. In this educational institution, Osip Mandelstam received his education shortly before him. Entomology and literature became the main hobbies of Vladimir Vladimirovich. Shortly before the revolution, he published a collection of his own poems at his own expense.

Emigration, training in Cambridge

After the revolution of 1917, the Nabokov family moved to the Crimea, and a little later, in 1919, the Nabokovs decided to emigrate. They managed to take some jewels with them, and the family lived on that money in Berlin. At that time, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov continued his studies at Cambridge. Biography of his these years is marked by the fact that he continued to compose poetry in Russian, and translated the work of L. Carroll "Alice in Wonderland" into his native language.

Death of Father Nabokov

In March 1922 a tragedy occurred in the Nabokov family. The head of the family, Vladimir Dmitrievich, was killed. This tragic event occurred during the lecture "America and the Restoration of Russia" PN Milyukov, held in the Berlin Philharmonic. The writer's father tried to prevent the radical shooting at Milyukov, but was killed by his partner.

Marriage, the first stories and the first novel

Vladimir Nabokov from 1922 became a member of the Russian diaspora, who lived in Berlin. He earned his living by teaching English. In the Berlin publishing houses and newspapers organized by emigrants from the USSR, Nabokov's stories began to appear. An important event in the personal life of the writer occurred in 1925 - he married. The chosen one was Vera Slonim. Vladimir Vladimirovich met this woman at a costume ball. One of the most important reasons for his becoming a writer is his happy family life. Nabokov's first novel, entitled "Mashenka," appeared shortly after the marriage of its author.

Works in Russian

Until 1937, Vladimir Nabokov wrote eight more novels in Russian. His author's style became more and more complicated, the writer put ever more bold experiments with the form. In Soviet Russia, Nabokov's novels were not published, but they were successful in the western emigration. Nowadays these works are considered masterpieces and classics of Russian literature, especially such novels as "Dar", "Luzhin's Defense" and "Invitation to the Execution".

Emigration to the United States, novels in English

In the late 1930s, the policy pursued in Germany by the Nazi authorities led to the disappearance of the Russian diaspora in Berlin. Since then, Nabokov's life with his Jewish wife in this country has become impossible, so he moved to Paris. Later, when the Second World War began, the writer emigrated to the United States. After the Russian diaspora ceased to exist in Europe, Vladimir Vladimirovich finally lost his Russian-speaking readers. For Nabokov, the only way out was to start writing in English. The first novel written in this language, he wrote back in Europe, before leaving the US. It's called "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight." And from 1937 until the end of his life, Vladimir Vladimirovich did not write any more novels in Russian. He only translated "Lolita" into his native language, and also wrote an autobiography on it ("Other Shores").

In the period from 1940 to 1958, Vladimir Nabokov, while in America, earns his living by lecturing at American universities. These lectures are devoted to Russian and world literature.

Interesting facts about Nabokov-teacher

The writer Nabokov was very original. His biography is also marked by a number of interesting facts. But as a teacher Nabokov is no less interesting. It is known that he was distinguished by an unusual manner of lecturing. Vladimir Nabokov asked students to always sit in the same places. He strictly forbade them to engage in extraneous matters during the lecture. Vladimir Vladimirovich did not allow me to go out on the exam. This could be done only by presenting a certificate from a doctor. Carefully prepared for all of his lectures Nabokov. The biography and creativity of this or that author were studied in great detail. The writer carefully thought out what he would talk about. Nevertheless, the students had a feeling that the teacher improvises a lot. Vladimir Vladimirovich had his own opinion about everything, while it could radically differ from the generally accepted one. In particular, this refers to his views on the works of Sholokhov, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and others. Nabokov throughout his life he abhorred all petty-bourgeois, vulgar and banal.

The first English-language novels, "Lolita"

The first English-language novels of Nabokov was "The Real Life ...", already mentioned above, as well as "Under the sign of illegitimate children." These works, despite all their artistic merits, had no commercial success.

In these years, Vladimir Vladimirovich is closely connected with E. Wilson, as well as some other literary critics. He continues to engage in entomology on a professional level. Traveling in the US during the holidays, working on the creation of the novel "Lolita" by its author, V. Nabokov. Biography and creativity of this writer are of interest to many because of the fact that he is the creator of this work. His theme is the story of an adult male, who became a passion for a 12-year-old girl. For its time, this topic was unthinkable, because of which the writer had virtually no hopes even that the novel will be published, not to mention his recognition. Nevertheless, success did not keep itself waiting. First, "Lolita" was published in Europe, and after a while - in America. This novel immediately brought the writer a financial well-being and world fame. It is curious that originally the work, which Nabokov himself noted, appeared in Olimpia, a very odious publishing house. This publishing house, which the author of "Lolita" understood after the text was published, mainly specialized in "semi-pornographic" novels and close to them works.

Return to Europe, the last works

Nabokov's biography is further marked by his return to Europe. Writer since 1960 lives in Montreux (Switzerland). Here there are his last novels, among which the most famous are "Ada" and "Pale Flame". Nabokov's biography ends in 1977. It was then that the writer died, having lived to 78 years. "Laura and her original" - the last novel by Nabokov, who remained unfinished. It was published in November 2009 in English. In the same year, the publishing house "Azbuka" produced a Russian translation of this work.

Biography Nabokov, a brief content of his novels, as well as the texts of his works - all this and to this day evokes the interest of many connoisseurs of his work. Vladimir Nabokov is an original and talented author, recognized throughout the world.