Lolita (novel)

Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. It has since been adapted into two major films: first by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and later by Adrian Lyne in 1997.
==Plot==
=== Official description ===
Awe and exhilaration—along with heartbreak and mordant wit—abound in Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Most of all, it is a meditation on love—love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.Lolita (Vintage International) | mitpressbookstore
=== Synopsis ===
==Writing style==
==History==
=== Early years ===
=== Publication and bans ===
Nabokov finished writing Lolita in December 1953 and immediately began searching for a willing publisher., p. 226 In the following month, the manuscript, with no signature or return address, was hand-delivered (as it was, at the time, illegal to transport obscenities via post) to New York. It was then distributed to Viking, Simon & Schuster, New Directions, Farrar, Straus, and Doubleday, all of whom rejected it with more or less regret.To be specific, the manuscript was rejected by Viking, Simon & Schuster, New Directions, Farrar & Straus (then known as two separate entities), and Doubleday. Viking would later say:, pp. 255, 262–63, 264 He then decided to have the manuscript sent to ParisMany of Nabokov's peers had published in Paris before him, such as James Joyce with Ulysses, due to the same difficulty with finding American publishers willing to publish controversial works., where it would reach Maurice Girodias of Olympia Press, who was as eager to publish the novel as Nabokov. Unaware that most of its catalog consisted of low-grade erotic fiction, and despite that his family and friends had protested this decisionGirodias, Nabokov signed a contract with the company in June 1955., pp. 266–67 He would later express regret with this decision, stating:
Thus, in September 1955, Lolita was published as a pair of green paperbacks "swarming with typographical errors.", p. 292 Within a few weeks, all of its first 5,000 copies sold though primarily to tourists to be exported internationally. No immediate reviews were made. Several months later, word of the novel began circulating in newspapers, and British Customs officers were soon instructed to seize all copies from entering the United Kingdom; a year later, the novel was banned in France as well.The 50th Anniversary of Nabokov's Lolita - Exhibition > Publishing Lolita (cornell.edu) Despite this, Olympia trudged forth with publication of the novel, even raising its price per copy.
 
Lolita was published in the United States by G.P. Putnam's Sons in August 1958. It became the first novel since Gone with the Wind to sell 100,000 copies in its first three weeks; by the end of September, it was #1 on the bestsellers list. Shortly thereafter, the novel was unbanned in France. In the following year, it was unbanned in England and published in London by Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Being that he was aso a co-founder of the company, this controversial publication led to the resignation of Nigel Nicholson, a Conservative member of parliament, from the general election of October 1959.Martin, Laurence W. (November 1960). "The Bournemouth Affair: Britain's First Primary Election". The Journal of Politics. 22 (4): 654–681. doi:10.2307/2126927. JSTOR 2126927. Lolita was then banned in Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa and would remain so until as late as 1965.(January 7, 2011). "Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books". TIME Magazine. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved on February 29, 2024.
===Present-day===
==Adaptations==
===Films===
*1962 adaptation by Stanley Kubrick. titled "Lolita"
* 1997 adaptation by Adrian Lyne, titled "Lolita"
=== Stage===
* 1971 musical by Alan Jay Lerner and John Barry, titled "Lolita, My Love"
*1981 play by Edward Albee, titled "Lolita"
*2003 play by Russian director Victor Sobchack
*2003 play by Michael West
*2009 one-man drama by Richard Nelson
*2013 three-man show by Four Humors at Minnesota Fringe Festival
===Opera===
*1992 opera by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, titled "Lolita"
*1999 opera by Boston-based composer John Harbison, titled "Lolita" (scrapped due to legal issues)
*2009 opera by American composer Joshua Fineberg and choreographer Johanne Saunier
===Ballet===
*2003 ballet by David Bombana
==References in media==
===Books===
*The Bookshop (1978) by Penelope Fitzgerald
*Welcome to the N.H.K. (2002) by Tatsuhiko Takimoto
* Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003) by Azar Nafisi
*My Dark Vanessa (2020) by Kate Elizabeth Russell
*Being Lolita (2020) by Alisson Wood
=== Film and TV===
*"The Missing Page", an episode of British sitcom Hancock's Half Hour (1960)
*Irma Ia Douce (1963)
*Manhattan (1979)
*Beautiful Girls (1996)
*American Beauty (1999)
*Broken Flowers (2005)
*Pretty Little Liars (2012-2014)
===Music===
*"Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police (1980)
*"One of the Boys" by Katy Perry (2008)
*"Off to the Races" and "Lolita" by Lana Del Rey (2012)
== Inspiration==
===Real-life parallels===
Several critics and writers have suggested that Lolita was inspired by the real-life case of Sally Horner, an American girl who, at the age of 11, was abducted by Frank La Salle. In 1948, Horner was confronted by La Salle, a 51-year-old convicted sex offender posing as an FBI officer, for attempting to steal a five-cent notebook. Several months later, he instructed her to leave with him, and she kissed her mother goodbye and boarded a bus into the arms of La Salle. Over the course of 21 months, La Salle traveled through several U.S. states with Horner under various aliases, claiming to be her father. It was reported that while on the road, Horner, still under the impression that La Salle was an FBI officer, was raped repeatedly by La Salle and threatened if she attempted escape. Horner, then aged 13, was rescued in 1950, only to unfortunately pass away two years later.
Despite having mentioned the case in Lolita, Nabokov denied Horner as his inspiration for the novel.
==Editions==
==Quotes ==
==Notes==
==References==
==Further reading==
*Lolita Chronology (dezimmer.net)
Category:Novel