Lolita

“Lolita…” three syllables gave the title to a novel that nearly never appeared and that shook the literary establishment. Discouraged at being unable to bring his manuscript to completion, Nabokov burned it. Rescued from the flames by his wife, whose physical traits and character Lolita partly shares, the completed manuscript was submitted to numerous American publishers. Every attempt met with refusal, publishers fearing prosecution given the “insane depravity” found on every page of this scandalous, incendiary and transgressive narrative. It was therefore in France, in 1955, that Lolita first appeared, from the presses of Maurice Girodias. Even so, the book was banned, and Nabokov was reluctant to defend it further: “I am somewhat loath to appear in the company of The Olympia Press. But I also find it difficult to see the matter as a whole. I must bear in mind that Cornell University has so far been very tolerant […]. On the other hand, I naturally wish to give Olympia all the support I can, even though, personally, I do not much care whether the ban is lifted or not, since Gallimard is in any case going to publish the French translation.”

Here indeed lay the paradox: the ministry banned the original English text, even though relatively few French readers were able to read it, while raising no objection to the publication of the French translation. It was Raymond Queneau, then writing Zazie dans le métro, who encouraged Gallimard to publish the novel, the translation of which was entrusted to none other than Erik Kahane, the brother of Maurice Girodias!

A very fine copy in wrappers.

Rare thus.