Speak,Memory

Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 23, 1899. The Nabokov family was known for their dedication to public service and high culture. Nabokov's father, an opponent of anti-Semitism, was a leader in the opposition party, the Kadets.

However, in 1919, after the Bolshevik Revolution, the family was forced into exile. Four years later, Nabokov's father was assassinated, and the family continued their nomadic lifestyle for many years.

作者简介

VladimirNabokovwasbornonApril23,1899,inSt.Petersburg,Russia.TheNabokovswereknownfortheirhighcultureandcommitmenttopublicservice,andtheelderNabokovwasanoutspokenopponentofanti-Semitismandoneoftheleadersoftheoppositionparty,theKadets.In1919,followingtheBolshevikRevolution,hetookhisfamilyintoexile.FouryearslaterhewasshotandkilledatapoliticalrallyinBerlinwhiletryingtoshieldthespeakerfromright-wingassassins.TheNabokovhouseholdwastrilingual,andasachildNabokovwasalreadyreadingWells,Poe,Browning,Keats,Flaubert,Verlaine,Rimbaud,Tolstoy,andChekhovalongsidethepopularentertainmentsofSirArthurConanDoyleandJulesVerne.Asayoungman,hestudiedSlavicandromancelanguagesatTrinityCollege,Cambridge,takinghishonorsdegreein1922.Forthenext18yearshelivedinBerlinandParis,writingprolificallyinRussianunderthepseudonym"Sirin"andsupportinghimselfthroughtranslations,lessonsinEnglishandtennis,andbycomposingthefirstcrosswordpuzzlesinRussian.In1925,hemarriedVeraSlonim,withwhomhehadonechild,ason,Dmitri.HavingalreadyfledRussiaandGermany,Nabokovbecamearefugeeoncemorein1940,whenhewasforcedtoleaveFrancefortheUnitedStates.TherehetaughtatWellesley,Harvard,andCornell.HealsogaveupwritinginRussianandbegancomposingfictioninEnglish.HismostnotableworksincludeBendSinister(1947),Lolita(1955),Pnin(1957),andPaleFire(1962),aswellasthetranslationofhisearlierRussiannovelsintoEnglish.HealsoundertookEnglishtranslationsofworksbyLermontovandPushkinandwroteseveralbooksofcriticism.VladimirNabokovdiedinMontreux,Switzerland,in1977.