The Original of Laura by Vladimir Nabokov. Short summary

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The wife of the neuroscientist Philip Wilde, Flora, cheated on him with a Russian lover. After a while, he wrote a novel in which he described Flora’s life and death, naming her Laura.

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The protagonist of the unfinished novel, a neuroscientist, Philip Wilde was successful and famous. His 24-year-old beautiful wife, Flora Lind, was of Russian descent. The woman cheats on her husband with a Russian lover.

Wilde keeps a diary in which he talks about the method of mental self-destruction he discovered. He conducts experiments on meditative self-destruction and describes his experiences. Philip also recalls his youth and his former lover, Aurora.

After 3 years of separation, an unknown man meets Flora at a Central European resort. At this time, the woman was living apart from her spouse, but they were still officially married.

Flora’s lover publishes a novel he has written, My Laura. In it he describes Flora’s life, calling her Laura, as well as her «stunning death.» An artist gives Wilde the novel in question. Soon Philip has a heart attack and dies.