Bibliographic title
Lolita’s 'Stray Canary': A 'Secret Handshake'?
Abstract
Barbara McLeod, a lifelong Nabokov fan, proposes that she has identified a previously undeciphered reference in the opening pages of Lolita. She believes the reference is to a 1919 magazine called The Lyceum which contains an article about a cat and a canary that fits the cited description in Lolita, Barbara McLeod, a lifelong Nabokov fan, proposes that she has identified a previously undeciphered reference in the opening pages of Lolita. She believes the reference is to a 1919 magazine called The Lyceum which contains an article about a cat and a canary that fits the cited description in Lolita, as well as being an apt analogy for Humbert and Lolita’s relationship.as well as being an apt analogy for Humbert and Lolita’s relationship.