Born in Russia, Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) had a penchant for writing about the tragic and the taboo in his books, especially the still-controversial Lolita. In 1919, his family left Russia for Western Europe, and eventually settled in the United States. Although his first works were written in Russian, he became famous for his novels like Pale Fire that he wrote in English. Nabokov's erudite, inventive approach to writing — buttressed by his formidable academic and cultural intellect — made him a literary legend.