Pages tagged “the original of laura”

The Master's Sputum: Unfinished Nabokov Novel Now Open to Examination

The Master's Sputum: Unfinished Nabokov Novel Now Open to Examination

In 1962, prodded by an interviewer to share a glimpse of a first draft, novelist Vladimir Nabokov replied, “Only ambitious non-entities and hearty mediocrities exhibit their rough drafts. It is like passing around samples of one’s sputum.” Now, more than 30 years after his death, we have an opportunity—against Nabokov’s expressed wishes—to examine such a sample....  read more

Found in: Books, Features

Playboy Acquires Rights to Serialize Vladimir Nabokov's Final Work

<i>Playboy</i> Acquires Rights to Serialize Vladimir Nabokov's Final Work

Every now and then, Playboy publishes something that really does compel people to pick up the magazine for the articles. The latest addition to this list is The Original of Laura, the novella Vladimir Nabokov was scribbling onto index cards until his death in 1977. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner acquired the first serial rights after his publication's literary editor, Amy Grace Loyd, plotted a clever scheme to win over Andrew Wylie, the book's agent: send him orchids. ...  read more

Found in: Books, News