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Cover of King, Queen, Knave

King, Queen, Knave

by Vladimir Nabokovliterary work· published 1928

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King, Queen, Knave is the second novel written by Vladimir Nabokov (under his pen name V. Sirin) while living in Berlin and sojourning at resorts in the Baltic. Written in the years 1927–8, it was published as Король, дама, валет (Korol', dama, valet) in Russian in October 1928 and then translated into German by Siegfried von Vegesack as König, Dame, Bube: ein Spiel mit dem Schicksal. Forty years later the novel was translated into English by Nabokov's son Dmitri, with significant changes made by the author. A film adaptation only loosely based on the novel followed in 1972.

Adaptations (1)

King, Queen, Knave was adapted into a 1972 film.

  • Poster for King, Queen, Knave
    King, Queen, Knave
    1972 · film · 94 min · dir. Jerzy Skolimowski · IMDb ↗
    IMDb5.4

    Based on a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, this English-language satirical drama details the experiences of Frank (John Moulder Brown), a young orphan who finds himself deep in the romantic clutches of his uncle's sensual wife. After Frank's parents die, he goes to live with his aunt Martha (Gina Lollabrigida) and uncle Charles (David Niven). Sexy Martha entices Frank into her embrace then wants him to kill her husband so that they can live off of his money. Frank wouldn't mind so much, but he really likes his uncle.