Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading"

Conceived in a "fortnight of wonderful excitement and sustained inspiration" in 1934, Invitation to a Beheading is one of Vladimir Nabokov's most enigmatic and compelling novels. The haunting tale of a man condemned to death for the mysterious crime of "gnostical turpitude", Invitation has provoked a dazzling range of interpretations, from the political to the metaphysical. In the fifth Aatseel Critical Companion to Russian Literature, ten distinguished Nabokov scholars penetrate Nabokov's narrative to discover its wealth of meanings and implications.An introductory essay by Julian W. Connolly defines how the novel fits into Nabokov's oeuvre, sketches out the most fruitful lines of interpretation, and draws attention to those features of Invitation that either might escape the reader's attention or prove difficult to comprehend upon first reading. Other essays are by Sergei Davydov, Andrew Fiedl, G. M. Hyde, D. Barton Johnson, Stephen Jan Parker, Ellen Pifer, David Rampton, Pekka Tammi, and Leona Toker.