King, Queen, Knave

by Vladimir Nabokov, Christopher Lane (Read by)

Overview

The novel is the story of Dreyer, a wealthy and boisterous proprietor of a men's clothing emporium store.  Ruddy, self-satisfied, and thoroughly masculine, he is perfectly repugnant to his exquisite but cold middle-class wife Martha.  Attracted to his money but repelled by his oblivious passion, she longs for their nephew instead, the myopic Franz. Newly arrived in Berlin, Franz soon repays his uncle's condescension in his aunt's bed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781480543034
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	12/01/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.12(d)

About the Author

One of the twentieth century’s master prose stylists, Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg in 1899. He studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, where he launched a brilliant literary career. In 1940 he moved to the United States, and achieved renown as a novelist, poet, critic and translator. He taught literature at Wellesley, Stanford, Cornell, and Harvard. In 1961 he moved to Montreux, Switzerland, where he died in 1977.

Christopher Lane has narrated more than 100 audiobooks, including Earphones and Audie Award winners. He has taught acting at Boston College and has appeared extensively onstage, receiving the Helen Hayes Award for his performance in Equus. He lives in New England.

Date of Birth:

April 23, 1899

Date of Death:

July 2, 1977

Place of Birth:

St. Petersburg, Russia

Place of Death:

Montreux, Switzerland

Education:

Trinity College, Cambridge, 1922

Editorial Reviews

When the naïve, provincial Franz becomes entangled in an affair with his uncle’s wife, Martha Dreyer, he finds himself caught in a dangerous love triangle. As Martha becomes more intent on murdering her husband, she enslaves Franz in her diabolical plan. But the lovers find that the perfect plot for murder leads to numerous complexities. Christopher Lane’s narration is utterly mesmerizing. His deep voice and measured pace capture the ominous undertones that Nabokov supplies throughout the novel. Without missing a beat, Lane’s vocal characterizations are wonderfully diverse. He conveys the sensual and malicious nature of Nabokov’s vicious femme fatale as flawlessly as he stammers the thoughts of the bumbling Franz. With his fluid and compelling performance, Lane’s delivery of this tantalizing novel resonates with richness. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2011 - AudioFile