- From Greece, the Nabokovs make it to western Europe.
- Vladimir and Sergey are enrolled in university at Cambridge, in England, with scholarships designated for émigrés.
- The rest of the family would stay in London, living on the profit of a "handful" of gems, rescued by Vladimir's mother's maid as she left St. Petersburg.
- When the family left Russia, they expected that they would return to Russia soon, but Soviet rule persists as the family spends months in Greece and France.
- Only Vladimir's father has spent any time in London before, and this period of life was captured by his father in a published book that Nabokov discovers, later, is available at the New York Public Library.
- Though before his father enjoyed a welcoming reception, this time in London the Nabokovs are bedraggled and poor, and the city is expensive.
- Soon, it is determined that they can no longer afford to live in London, and the rest of the family leaves for Berlin, and the boys start their studies.