Subject
VN Bibliography: Rowohlt vol. 3
Date
Body
Volume 3 of the the splendid Rowohlt set, VLADIMIR NABOKOV
GESAMMELTE WERKE, is now out. It is volume 15 in a projected 24. As
NABOKV-L has previously reported, this series, although in German, is a
valuable aquisition for libraries and Nabokov researchers because of its
editorial apparatus.
The new volume contains *Gelachter im Dunkel* (*Camera obscura*),
and *Verzweifling*. *Laughter in the Dark* has a complex textual history,
and editor Dieter Zimmer presents both a translation of the original
Russian text and a translation of the last English version. Zimmer, a leading Nabokov
authority, provides a 28 page exegesis on the two novels concentrating
on DESPAIR. The highlight of Zimmer's essay is its exposition of the actual murder
case that provided VN with the basis for his novel DESPAIR. Although the
case had been previously remarked by a Russian reader of *Rul'*, N.
Melnikov, the details came to light through the combined
efforts of several NABOKV-L subscribers. Phil Howerton, a judge in N.
Carolina, ran across a reference to the 1931 British "Rouse" case in a
book by Eric Ambler. He and Moscow translator Peter Kartsev explored the
matter and noted many similarities between the Rouse case and the plot of
DESPAIR. Meanwhile, I was poking about and ran across references to the
German Telzner case of 1929 which also resembled VN's plot. This proved a
dead end until Peter Kartsev determined that "Telzner" was actually
"Tetzner." I, unwittingly following in Melnikov's footsteps, located the
*Rul'* account and also some of the German press stories. Dieter Zimmer in
Germany, pursuing the German press accounts, uncovered the full story
which he admirably recounts in his "Nachwort des Herausgebers" (555-582).
The volume also includes an up-to-date listing of critical studies
of both novels.
GESAMMELTE WERKE, is now out. It is volume 15 in a projected 24. As
NABOKV-L has previously reported, this series, although in German, is a
valuable aquisition for libraries and Nabokov researchers because of its
editorial apparatus.
The new volume contains *Gelachter im Dunkel* (*Camera obscura*),
and *Verzweifling*. *Laughter in the Dark* has a complex textual history,
and editor Dieter Zimmer presents both a translation of the original
Russian text and a translation of the last English version. Zimmer, a leading Nabokov
authority, provides a 28 page exegesis on the two novels concentrating
on DESPAIR. The highlight of Zimmer's essay is its exposition of the actual murder
case that provided VN with the basis for his novel DESPAIR. Although the
case had been previously remarked by a Russian reader of *Rul'*, N.
Melnikov, the details came to light through the combined
efforts of several NABOKV-L subscribers. Phil Howerton, a judge in N.
Carolina, ran across a reference to the 1931 British "Rouse" case in a
book by Eric Ambler. He and Moscow translator Peter Kartsev explored the
matter and noted many similarities between the Rouse case and the plot of
DESPAIR. Meanwhile, I was poking about and ran across references to the
German Telzner case of 1929 which also resembled VN's plot. This proved a
dead end until Peter Kartsev determined that "Telzner" was actually
"Tetzner." I, unwittingly following in Melnikov's footsteps, located the
*Rul'* account and also some of the German press stories. Dieter Zimmer in
Germany, pursuing the German press accounts, uncovered the full story
which he admirably recounts in his "Nachwort des Herausgebers" (555-582).
The volume also includes an up-to-date listing of critical studies
of both novels.