Vladimir Nabokov Biography | Author of Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited Author Biography

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 23, 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (1870-1922), and mother, Elena Ivanovna (Rukavishnikov) Nabokov (1876-1939), both wealthy members of the Russian aristocratic elite, took great care and pride in educating and promoting self-confidence in him and his siblings. Young Nabokov had two brothers and two sisters and an extended family to provide ample social interaction. There were also large numbers of servants at hand, a succession of governesses and tutors, family trips abroad, substantial libraries to draw upon, and two large estates to explore. In addition to his love for languages (particularly English, French, and Russian) and literature, he early on developed a keen interest in chess and lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).

World War I (1914-1918), the Russian Revolutions (1917-1918), and the Russian Civil War (1918-1921) shattered the Russian aristocracy and dispersed its survivors all over Europe. The...
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