Vladimir Nabokov, King, Queen, Knave

Barbara Wyllie (University College London)

Ed. by Neil Cornwell, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 2.2.2.00: Post-1917 Writing and Culture in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, 1917-present.
Vol. editors: Neil Cornwell (University of Bristol), Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Andrei Rogatchevski (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1968

Places

Russia (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Nabokov's second novel, Korol', Dama, Valet was published in 1928 by the Berlin émigré publishing house, Slovo. Nearly forty years later, Nabokov turned to the task of producing an English translation – King, Queen, Knave – which was published in 1968. In 1972, a film version by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Gina Lollobrigida and David Niven, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Korol', Dama, Valet marked a distinct departure from the “destitution”, “nostalgia” and “human humidity” of Nabokov's first novel, Mashen'ka [Mary], initiating a process of “gradual inner …

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1815 words

Citation: Wyllie, Barbara. "King, Queen, Knave". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 December 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4220, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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