Dear All,
VN in an undated page at the end of his 1962 diary (amid butterfly material) has the note "Henry Houssaye Lolita 1945."
At the end of his 1970 diary, another undated page, he lists:
NY
George Hessen 139 W83
Natasha 32 E61
Pub. Library (Henry Houssaye Lolita 1945)
At the end of his 1971 diary, another undated page, he lists:
NY
Hampshire House S. Central Prk
Publ. Lib. (look up Houssaye, Henry Lolita 1945).
But VN didn't travel to NY in 1971 or later. Armand killing his young wife "in almost similar circumstances" to Hugh's killing Armande seems a mighty curious coincidence, though. How "almost similar," Maurice and Stephen?
Brian Boyd
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Maurice Couturier
Sent: Mon 28/04/2008 9:54 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] Houssaye's Lolita
Dear List,
When I posted my presentation of Houssaye's "Lolita" (which I attach to this
mail), I rashly said that, in my opinion, Nabokov was unlikely to have read
it, though it was on the catalogue of the Public Library of New York. Stephen
Blackwell answered back drawing my attention to the fact that the name of one
of the two chief characters in that novel, Armand, was close to that of
Armande in "Transparent Things" whom her husband kills in his sleep; and
Armand kills his young wife Lolita in almost similar circumstances. Stephen
may be right after all, though at the time Nabokov may have been more
interested in the name of the girl and the age difference with her husband,
than in anything else.
Maurice Couturier
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