0
    • Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image Look inside

    The Enchanter

    Part of Vintage International

    Author Vladimir Nabokov
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $15.00 US
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Jul 20, 1991 | 144 Pages | 9780679728863
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    See Additional Formats
    The Enchanter is the precursor to Nabokov's classic novel, Lolita. At once hilarious and chilling, it tells the story of an outwardly respectable man and his fatal obsession with certain prepubescent girls, whose coltish grace and subconscious coquetry reveal, to his mind, a special bud on the verge of bloom.
    Vladimir Nabokov studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin. In 1940, he left France for America, where he wrote some of his greatest works—Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962)—and translated his earlier Russian novels into English. He taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977. View titles by Vladimir Nabokov
    "Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically." — John Updike

    "Masterly ... brilliant." —V. S. Pritchett, The New York Review of Books

    "A gem to be appreciated by any admirer of the most graceful and provocative literary craftsman." —Chicago Tribune

    "One of the best books of the year ... [The Enchanter] displays the supple clarity of a master." —The Boston Globe

    "Enchanting ... sleekly wrought." —Newsweek

    About

    The Enchanter is the precursor to Nabokov's classic novel, Lolita. At once hilarious and chilling, it tells the story of an outwardly respectable man and his fatal obsession with certain prepubescent girls, whose coltish grace and subconscious coquetry reveal, to his mind, a special bud on the verge of bloom.

    Author

    Vladimir Nabokov studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin. In 1940, he left France for America, where he wrote some of his greatest works—Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962)—and translated his earlier Russian novels into English. He taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977. View titles by Vladimir Nabokov

    Praise

    "Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically." — John Updike

    "Masterly ... brilliant." —V. S. Pritchett, The New York Review of Books

    "A gem to be appreciated by any admirer of the most graceful and provocative literary craftsman." —Chicago Tribune

    "One of the best books of the year ... [The Enchanter] displays the supple clarity of a master." —The Boston Globe

    "Enchanting ... sleekly wrought." —Newsweek

    Additional formats

    Other books in this series

    Other Books by this Author

    Related Articles

    Books for Women's History Month Book Covers: We the Women 9780593727027 NIGHT FLYER 9780593491188 Undaunted 9780525659143 DEAR MISS PERKINS 9780806543178
    General

    Books for Women’s History Month

    In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are sharing books by women who have shaped history and have fought for their communities. Our list includes books about women who fought for racial justice, abortion rights, equality in the workplace, and ranges in topics from women in politics and prominent women in history to

    Read more

    Books for Women’s History Month

    General
    Subscribe

    Penguin Random House Higher Education

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)