i-iv -- CONTENTS -- IN PLACE OF AN INTRODUCTION -- I. Truth and Fiction in Literary Biography: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight -- II. FICTITIOUS BIOGRAPHY AS PARADIGM FOR THE BETTER WORLD OF ART: BEND SINISTER -- III. AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS DEMONSTRATION OF “PRECISE FATE”: LOLITA -- IV. BIOGRAPHY AS A BALANCE BETWEEN TRAGEDY AND COMEDY: PNIN -- V. THE COMBINATION OF AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AS “CORRELATED PATTERN IN THE GAME”: PALE FIRE -- VI. AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS THE TRIUMPH OF SUBJECTIVITY: ADA OR ARDOR: A FAMILY CHRONICLE -- VII. BIOGRAPHY AS SINKING BACK INTO THE PAST: TRANSPARENT THINGS -- VIII. PARODIED AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS SATIRE ON THE UNITY OF LIFE AND WORK: LOOK AT THE HARLEQUINS -- SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY