''Nabokov’s Butterflies'' is a book edited and annotated by Brian Boyd and Robert Michael Pyle that examines and presents

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

’s passion for

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in his literary presentation. The book contains a chapter by Boyd discussing the literary treatment of butterflies in VN’s work labeled "Nabokov, Literature, Lepidoptera", a chapter by Pyle to assess Nabokv’s standing as a lepidopterist ("Between Cloud and Climb") and writings of Nabokov concerning butterflies. The latter section includes previously unpublished writings by Nabokov, namely "Father’s Butterflies: Second Addendum to ''The Gift'' (translated by

Dmitri Nabokov Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov (; May 10, 1934February 22, 2012) was an American opera singer and translator. Born in Berlin, he was the only child of Russian parents: author Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Véra; they emigrated to the United State ...

) and "The Butterflies of Europe", notes concerning an unfinished book about the lepidoptera of Europe. The book also contains an addendum compiled by Pyle that lists butterflies described by Nabokov and butterflies named after him.

Note

The above book is not to be confused with ''Nabokov’s Butterfly'' (), a book by Rick Gekosi, a

bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...

, who recounts his experiences in the collection and sale of rare books.

References

* ''Nabokov’s Butterflies'', edited by Brian Boyd and Robert Michael Pyle. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000. . {{Vladimir Nabokov 2000 non-fiction books Books on Lepidoptera Works about Vladimir Nabokov