A collection of transcribed classroom presentations delivered by Vladimir Nabokov, it offers insights into his distinctive approaches to reading and analyzing literary works. The transcripts cover novels by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, and Robert Louis Stevenson. His lectures emphasized close reading, attention to detail, and the importance of artistic structure within a text.
These compiled lectures provide unique access to a celebrated author’s perspective on the craft of fiction. They offer valuable models for literary analysis, underscoring the significance of stylistic elements and narrative construction. Nabokov’s critical framework encourages readers to engage actively with texts and appreciate the artistry involved in their creation, a perspective influenced by his own experiences as a writer and his rigorous academic background.
