Vladimir Nabokov in Context: (Literature in Context)

Vladimir Nabokov, bilingual writer of dazzling masterpieces, is a phenomenon that both resists and requires contextualization. This book challenges the myth of Nabokov as a sole genius who worked in isolation from his surroundings, as it seeks to anchor his work firmly within the historical, cultural, intellectual and political contexts of the turbulent twentieth century. Vladimir Nabokov in Context maps the ever-changing sites, people, cultures and ideologies of his itinerant life which shaped the production and reception of his work. Concise and lively essays by leading scholars reveal a complex relationship of mutual influence between Nabokov's work and his environment. Appealing to a wide community of literary scholars this timely companion to Nabokov's writing offers new insights and approaches to one of the most important, and yet most elusive writers of modern literature.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: contextualizing Nabokov David M. Bethea and Siggy Frank; Part I. Identity: 1. Nabokov: a life in contexts I: Russia and emigration Brian Boyd; 2. Nabokov: a life in contexts II: beyond the emigration Brian Boyd; 3. Childhood Barbara Wyllie; 4. Women Lara Delage-Toriel; 5. Friends and foes Julian W. Connolly; 6. Academia Susan Elizabeth Sweeney; 7. Authorial persona Maria Malikova; Part II. Places: 8. St Petersburg Gennady Barabtarlo; 9. Cambridge Beci Carver; 10. Berlin Stanislav Shvabrin; 11. Paris John Burt Foster, Jr; 12. East to West Coast Monica Manolescu; 13. Switzerland East to West Coast Monica Manolescu; Part III. Literature and Arts: 14. The Russian literary canon Alexander Dolinin; 15. The Western literary canon Michael Wood; 16. Publishing: Russian Émigré literature Siggy Frank; 17. Publishing: American literature Duncan White; 18. Detective fiction Michal Oklot and Matthew Walker; 19. Samizdat and Tamizdat Ann Komaromi; 20. Nabokov's visual imagination Marijeta Bozovic; 21. Popular culture Nassim Winnie Balestrini; Part IV. Ideas and Cultures: 22. Science Stephen H. Blackwell; 23. Darwinism David M. Bethea; 24. Psychoanalysis Michal Oklot and Matthew Walker; 25. Faith Sergei Davydov; 26. Jewishness as literary device in Nabokov's fiction Leonid Livak; 27. Liberalism Dana Dragunoiu; 28. Totalitarianism Olga Voronina; 29. The Cold War Will Norman; 30. The long 1950s Andrea Carosso; 31. Transnationalism Rachel Trousdale; Further reading.

About the Author :
David Bethea is emeritus Vilas Research Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Apart from several articles on Nabokov his publications include The Superstitious Muse: Thinking Russian Literature Mythopoetically (Selected Essays) (2009); Realizing Metaphors: Alexander Pushkin and the Life of the Poet (1998) and Joseph Brodsky and the Creation of Exile (1994). He is also the editor of The Pushkin Handbook (2006, 2013), Puškin Today (1993) and an annotated edition of Pushkin's works in Russian. Siggy Frank is assistant professor in Russian Studies at the University of Nottingham. She is the author of several articles on Nabokov and the monograph Nabokov's Theatrical Imagination (Cambridge, 2012).

Review :
'Vladimir Nabokov in Context offers a competent and highly readable exploration of the complex relationship between the man and his work in the global context of his time … [It] is a very commendable effort, and a valuable resource on the circumstances that fashioned Nabokov and his art.' René Alladaye, The Slavonic and East European Review