The Defense

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Nabokov's early novel about a chess-playing genius, reissuing in Modern Classics as part of the Nabokov relaunch

Vladimir Nabokov's early novel is the dazzling story of the coarse, strange yet oddly endearing chess-playing genius Luzhin. Discovering his prodigious gift in boyhood and rising to the rank of International Grandmaster, Luzhin develops a lyrical passion for chess that renders the real world a phantom. As he confronts the fiery, swift-swooping Italian Grandmaster Turati, he brings into play his carefully devised defence. Making masterly play of metaphor and imagery, The Defense is the book that, of his early works, Nabokov felt 'contains and diffuses the greatest warmth'.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241720486
Published: January 2025

Number of pages: 192
Width: 129 mm
Height: 197 mm
Depth: 12 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd