About the Author: Vladimir Nabokov was born on April 22, 1899, in St. Petersburg. After the October Revolution, his family fled to Western Europe in 1919. From 1919 to 1922, he studied Russian and French literature at Cambridge. From 1922 to 1937, he lived in Berlin and published his first works, mostly under the pseudonym W. Sirin. From 1937 to 1940, he fled from Nazi Germany to Southern France and Paris, and since 1940, he has lived in the USA. From 1961 to 1977, Nabokov resided in the Palace Hotel in Montreux. He passed away on July 2, 1977. About the Editor: Dieter E. Zimmer, born in 1934 in Berlin, was an editor for the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit" from 1955 to 1999. He has authored numerous publications on topics in psychology, biology, and anthropology, as well as literary translations (including works by Nabokov, Joyce, and Borges). The complete works of Vladimir Nabokov are published by Rowohlt Verlag.