Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg. When his family emigrated to Berlin after Russian Revolution he started studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated three years later. Nabokov moved then to Berlin for the next 15 years, gaining literary success with his translations of some of Heine's songs. His first novel, MASHENKA, written in Russia, appeared in 1926.

Before moving permanently to the United States Nabokov lived from 1937 to 1940 in Paris. He took US citizenship in 1945 and taught at Wellesley College and Cornell University. His first novels in English were THE REAL LIFE OF SEBASTIAN KNIGHT (1941) and BEND SINISTER (1947).

Nabokov's best known work is perhaps LOLITA, filmed in 1962 and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The story, dealing with the desire of a middle-aged pedophile Humbert Humbert for a 12-year-old nymphet, gained huge success, and allowed Nabokov to abandon teaching and devote himself entirely to writing. From 1959 Nabokov lived in Switzerland.

Among Nabokov's major critical works are his study of Nikolay Gogol (1944), and translation of Aleksandr Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (1964), with commentary.

Selected works:

• MASHENKA, 1926 - Mary
• KOROL-DAMA-VALET, 1928 - King, Queen, Knave
• SOGLYADATAY, 1930 - The Eye
• ZASHCHITA LUZINA, 1930 - The Defense
• CAMERA OBSCURA, 1933
• OTCHAYANIYE, 1936 - Despair
• DAR, 1937-38 - The Gift
• PRIGLASHENIYE NA KAZN, 1938 - Invitation to a Beheading
• THE REAL LIFE OF SEBASTIAN KNIGHT, 1944
• NIKOLAI GOGOL, 1944
• BEND SINISTER, 1947
• SPEAK, MEMORY, 1952
• LOLITA, 1955 FILM 1962, dir. by Stanley Kubrick
• NABOKOV'S DOZEN, 1958
• PALE FIRE, 1962
• Commentary and translation of Alexandr Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (4 vol), 1964
• SPEAK, MEMORY, 1967
• NABOKOV'S CONGERIES, 1968
• TRANSPARENT THINGS, 1972
• LOOK AT THE HARLEQUINS!, 1974
• TYRANTS DESTROYED AND OTHER STORIES, 1976
• DETAILS OF A SUNSET AND OTHER STORIES, 1976
• LECTURES ON LITERATURE, 1980
• THE MAN FROM THE USSR AND OTHER PLAYS, 1984
• THE ENCHANTER, 1987 (early version of Lolita)
• SELECTED LETTERS, 1940-77, 1989
• THE STORIES OF VLADIMIR NABOKOV, 1996

Other writers who combine fantastical elements, fabulations, with realistic narrative: Italo Calvino, Günter Grass, Umberto Eco.

See also: Magic Realism.