Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)

A Russian-born novel writer, his best-known work, "Lolita," was published in 1955 in France. It deals with a man, Humbert Humbert, having a relationship with a 12-year-old girl, Lolita, (real name Dolores Haze). The book did not reach the U.S. until three years later, but caused a sensation when it did.

Nabokov wrote autobiographically with "Mashenka," "Speak, Memory" and "PNIN." The first two books describe both Nabokov's first serious love and his family estate. "PNIN" features a professor teaching in a foreign country. It is based at least partly on Nabokov's own experiences teaching at Cornell University.

-- Encyclopedia of Literature

Pub Date: 04/18/99