Invitation to a Beheading.

£575 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

First English edition of Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov. 'With the Compliments of the Author' card loosely inserted. This copy was owned by his final editor, Morris Bishop, a friend of Nabokov and also the chairman of the Department of Romance Languages at Cornell. Bishop is credited with aiding Nabokov in getting a job at Cornell, which was key in supporting him as he wrote his most well-known works. Translated from Russian by Dmitri Nabokov in collaboration with the author, it is the first of his Russian-language novels to appear in English. First English edition; 8vo; ex libris of Nabokov's editor Morris Bishop to front pastedown, compliment slip loosely inserted; original quarter red cloth, patterned boards, dust jacket, minor wear to extremities, minor toning to dustjacket; 223pp.

• Binding: Hardcover

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