David M. Bethea and Siggy Frank (Eds), Vladimir Nabokov in Context, Cambridge University Press, 2018.

« 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. »

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.