Of the nine novels that Nabokov wrote in Russian, the last three - Despair (Otchaianie), Invitation to a Beheading (Priglashenie na kazn), and The Gift (Dar) - are arguably his finest. In them Nabokov explores the nature of the creative spirit and the relationship between artists and the subjects that inspire them. Despair offers a cautionary tale of creative solipsism with its depiction of a self-proclaimed artistic genius who shows little regard for the autonomy of the people whose lives he subsumes into his creative fantasy. Invitation to a Beheading presents the contrary position as Nabokov focuses on an imaginative individual who must work up the courage to trust his own creative vision and end his fealty to the conformist pressures of the surrounding society. The Gift provides the most sweeping portrait of the artistic personality, and it discloses in exquisite detail the transformative powers of a finely honed creative consciousness. What is more, each of these novels tackles its subject in a unique way. The resulting triptych testifies to the extraordinary range of Vladimir Nabokov's own imagination.