Vladimir Nabokov. American Years

The encyclopedic biography of Vladimir Nabokov, written by Brian Boyd, a professor at Oakland and Princeton universities, not only brought into scientific and readerly circulation similar works of his predecessors, but also 'closed' the question of Nabokov's new biography. Professor Boyd's fundamental work has received high accolades from researchers and fans of V. Nabokov's oeuvre for its detail and concise accuracy of exposition, universal reference apparatus, and notes, as well as a meticulously selected set of archival photographs. Significant assistance (which is now hard to overestimate) was provided to Professor Boyd by the writer's widow, Vera Evseevna, and their son, Dmitry Vladimirovich.

Since its publication in English (1990, 1991), this two-volume work has been the only authoritative source of information about Nabokov's life and work. The Russian edition, prepared by us in collaboration with the author, also includes the results of Professor Boyd's research in the subsequent years and has remained the most accurate and complete biography of Vladimir Nabokov of all existing in the world, in any language, for almost a decade. The Russian editions were published in 2001 (volume 1), 2004 (volume 2) (a joint publication of 'Symposium' and the 'Independent Newspaper' Publishing House), and in 2010 (the 'Symposium' Publishing House).

For the 2010 edition, Professor Boyd wrote a preface and afterword, reflecting archival findings and publications that appeared during the period after the first Russian (2001, 2004) edition was released, and made clarifications and additions to the text.

The present reissue (2024) is a biography of V. Nabokov, supplemented by the author in 2010.