Bend Sinister

by Nabokov, Vladimir

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 23, 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Nabokovs were known for their high culture and commitment to public service, and the elder Nabokov was an outspoken opponent of antisemitism and one of the leaders of the opposition party, the Kadets. In 1919, following the Bolshevik revolution, he took his family into exile. Four years later he was shot and killed at a political rally in Berlin while trying to shield the speaker from right-wing assassins. The Nabokov household was trilingual, and as a child Nabokov was already reading Wells, Poe, Browning, Keats, Flaubert, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, alongside the popular entertainments of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jules Verne. As a young man, he studied Slavic and romance languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his honors degree in 1922. For the next eighteen years he lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin and supporting himself through translations, lessons in English and tennis, and by composing the first crossword puzzles in Russian. In 1925 he married Vera Slonim, with whom he had one child, a son, Dmitri. Having already fled Russia and Germany, Nabokov became a refugee once more in 1940, when he was forced to leave France for the United States. There he taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He also gave up writing in Russian and began composing fiction in English. In his afterword to Lolita he claimed: "My private tragedy, which cannot, and indeed should not, be anybody's concern, is that I had to abandon my natural idiom, my untrammeled, rich, and infinitely docile Russian tongue for a second-rate brand of English, devoid of any of those apparatuses--the baffling mirror, the black velvet backdrop, the implied associations and traditions--which the native illusionist, frac-tails flying, can magically use to transcend the heritage in his own way." [p. 317] Yet Nabokov's American period saw the creation of what are arguably his greatest works, Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962), as well as the translation of his earlier Russian novels into English. He also undertook English translations of works by Lermontov and Pushkin and wrote several books of criticism. Vladimir Nabokov died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.

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Bend Sinister
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Bend Sinister

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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Used - Good in Good dust jacket
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First Edition; First Printing
Published
1947
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Hardcover
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NY: Henry Holt. Good in Good dust jacket. 1947. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Publisher's gilt-titled cloth. First printing stated. Cloth is stained to lower board edges, corners worn, slight foxing to block edge, damping to bottom block edge that slighty enters bottom margins. Front hinge cracked. The DJ in mylar is toned, mildly stained, tattered to… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister.

Bend Sinister.

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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1960
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London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1960. First British edition of Nabokov's first novel written in America. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket with toning to the spine. Jacket design by Eric Ayers. Bend Sinister was the first novel he wrote while living in America and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote. While it is… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister.

Bend Sinister.

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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1947
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New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1947. First edition of Nabokov's first novel written in America. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example. Bend Sinister was the first novel he wrote while living in America and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote. While it is filled with veiled puns and characteristically… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister.

by NABOKOV, Vladimir.

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Used - Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket
Published
1973
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Hardcover
ISBN 10
007045728X
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NY:: McGraw-Hill,. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1973. Hardcover. 007045728X . A novel. First printing thus. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. .
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BEND SINISTER: A NOVEL - INSCRIBED TO MATTHEW J. BRUCCOLI BY VERA & DMITRI NABOKOV
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BEND SINISTER: A NOVEL - INSCRIBED TO MATTHEW J. BRUCCOLI BY VERA & DMITRI NABOKOV

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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1972
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London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1972. Second British Edition. Nabokov's second novel in English, first published by Henry Holt in 1947. A dystopian novel set in the fictitious European city of Padukgrad, centered around a civilized philosopher, Adam Krug, who is caught up in the tyranny of a police state. A distinguished copy, inscribed to Nabokov scholar Matthew J. Bruccoli… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister.

Bend Sinister.

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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1947
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New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1947. First edition of Nabokov's first novel written in America. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket with some light wear to the spine. Bend Sinister was the first novel he wrote while living in America and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote. While it is filled… Read more about this item
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BEND SINISTER

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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As new
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1981
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Trade paperback
ISBN 10
080943623X
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Time-Life Books, 1981. Trade paperback. As new. Louis Di Valentin. With an introduction by the author. Time-Life Books, c1981. Time Reading Program Special Edition. 217pp., cover art Louis Di Valentin. 8vo. Uncreased spine, as new unread trade paperback.
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BEND SINISTER

BEND SINISTER

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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Used - Fine in Very Good dust jacket
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First Edition Thus
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1973
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McGraw Hill: NY. Fine in Very Good dust jacket. 1973. First Edition Thus. Fine. First McGraw-Hill edition (first thus) of Nabokov's first novel written in America. Free of former owner writing or bookplates in non price clipped ($7.95) very good DJ. Spine is a shade lighter than front panel, small wear to edges. Jacket will arrive in… Read more about this item
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BEND SINISTER

BEND SINISTER

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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Dust Jacket Included
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1st Edition
Published
1947
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Hardcover
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Montreal, Quebec, CAN
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New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1947. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. Hardcover. First Edition of this dystopian novel and Nabokov's second in English. 8vo. 242 pp. A fine copy in black cloth, gilt titles to the spine in a near fine or better pictorial dustwrapper with just a hint of use. An extremely nice… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister.

Bend Sinister.

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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1973
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New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1973. First McGraw-Hill edition of Nabokov's first novel written in America. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Stan Skardinski. Bend Sinister was the first novel he wrote while living in America and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote. While it is filled with veiled puns and… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister
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Bend Sinister

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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Published
1962
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London: Corgi Books, 1962. Mass Market Paperback. Good. A few ink notes and underlines. Yellowing pages. Wear to cover and tear on spine. 222 pages.
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BEND SINISTER
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BEND SINISTER

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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(1947)
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New York: Henry Holt, (1947). First edition. Dystopian novel "of a man under the tyrant state." 8vo black cloth, gilt spine lettering. Near fine in very good to near fine dust jacket with light creasing and rubbing and few small chips and tears. From the collection of sports writer Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman with his penciled notations about the… Read more about this item
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Bend sinister : romany

Bend sinister : romany

by Nabokov, Vladimir

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Used - Near fine copy in near fine+ DJ.
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Presumed first Russian ed
Published
1993
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Hardcover
ISBN 10
5835200196
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Sankt-Peterburg: Severo-zapad, 1993. Presumed first Russian ed. Hardcover. Near fine copy in near fine+ DJ.. Octavo in illus grey-black DJ; 525, [3] p. : illus. ; 21 cm. In Russian. Scarce.
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Bend Sinister
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Bend Sinister

by Vladimir Nabokov

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As New
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Orange, Virginia, USA
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Vintage trade paperback with bright and tight interior, Very Good. The first novel Nabokov wrote while living in America and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote, a haunting and compelling narrative about a civilized man caught in the tyranny of a police state. This edition is from the Time Reading Program, circa 1960s, with adhesive binding.
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BEND SINISTER

by Nabokov, Vladimir.

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Used - Near Fine
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Dust Jacket Included
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First Edition
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Hardcover
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PASADENA, California, USA
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MCgraw Hill Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. A NEAR FINE FIRST IN VERY GOOD DJ. OWNER'S NAME.
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Bend Sinister

Bend Sinister

by Vladimir Nabokov

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Used - Very Good-
Edition
Time Reading Program Special Edition
Published
1964
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Front and back covers show minimal wear; Pages are clean; Fore edge and bottom edge have minor staining; Binding is tight.
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Bend Sinister

by Nabokov, Vladimir

Condition
Used - Very Good
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No Jacket
Edition
First Thus
Published
1947
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Hardcover
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SANTA BARBARA, California, USA
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New York: Henry Holt, 1947. Library Edition that is well made and a handsome copy. First printing stated on copyright page. No jacket. Turquoise boards with somewhat abstract design to front and rear boards. White lettering on spine. Bookpocket with San Francisco Library card in pocket. No other library markings. Moderate wear but… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister

Bend Sinister

by Vladimir Nabokov

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Used - Very Good+
Published
1964
Binding
Tradesize Softcover
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Roanoke, Virginia, USA
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Sturdy cardboard covers.
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Bend Sinister

Bend Sinister

by Vladimir Nabokov

Condition
Used - Good
Published
1981
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
080943623X
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Seattle, Washington, USA
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Time-Life Books, 1981. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket… Read more about this item
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Bend Sinister

Bend Sinister

by Nabokov, Vladimir

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1962T
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Paperback
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London, London, GBR
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Corgi, 1962T. paperback. Very Good. in x in x in. A clean, tight copy. Very Light wear to extremities. First edition.
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A$49.00