Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita Is Published in the United States
Vladimir Nabokov's novel *Lolita*, first published in the United States on August 18, 1958, is one of the most controversial works of 20th-century literature. The story follows Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man obsessed with young girls, particularly a girl he describes as a "nymphet." Initially released in France in 1955, it faced rejection from several major American publishers before finding success with Putnam in the U.S. The novel quickly gained notoriety, stirring strong reactions from critics, including accusations of obscenity, which led to bans in some regions. However, it also received high praise, notably from English novelist Graham Greene, propelling its popularity and contributing to its initial impressive sales. The success of *Lolita* dramatically altered Nabokov's career, enhancing his fame and allowing him financial security. This pivotal moment established him as a major literary figure, enabling him to focus on writing full-time until his death in Switzerland in 1977. The book remains a significant topic of discussion regarding its themes and the moral implications of its content.
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita Is Published in the United States
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita Is Published in the United States
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita had its first American printing on August 18, 1958. The author, a Russian emigré, was a novelist, poet, and critic, and is considered to be one of the major literary figures of the 20th century.
Nabokov was born on April 22, 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father helped lead the prerevolutionary liberal Constitutional Democratic Party and also wrote several books on the subjects of criminal law and politics. In 1919 the Nabokov family fled to Western Europe in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. They first lived in Germany and then in England, where Nabokov entered Cambridge University on a scholarship set up for the sons of prominent Russian exiles. He graduated from Cambridge in 1922 with honors in French and Russian literature and settled in Berlin with his family. That same year his father was killed by an assassin.
Before his family left Russia, Nabokov had published two collections of verse between 1916 and 1918. In the 1920s, while in England, he continued to write poetry, primarily in Russian but also in English. In addition to composing verse, while he lived in Germany Nabokov wrote for the Russian emigré press in Berlin under the pseudonym of Vladimir Sirin. He also published his first novels in Russian, including Mashenka (1926; Mary, 1970), Korol, Dama, Valet (1928; King, Queen, Knave, 1968), and Zashchita (1930; The Defense, 1964). They earned him respect among Russian emigrés but were not financially successful. In 1937, while in France, Nabokov started to write prose in English and, in 1940, moved to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1945. He taught English literature at Wellesley College from 1941 until 1948 and Russian literature at Cornell University from 1948 to 1959. It was during his tenure at Cornell that Nabokov wrote Lolita, which would be the most successful work of his career.
Lolita tells the story of Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged European man with an obsessive interest in young girls, particularly an American girl whom Nabokov terms a “nymphet.” The novel had been rejected by four prominent American publishers— Viking, Simon and Schuster, New Directions, and Farrar, Strauss—before the French firm Olympia Press issued the book with a first printing of 5,000 copies in 1955.
Although the first printing sold out quickly in Paris, it initially failed to garner any significant attention until the English novelist Graham Greene reviewed it for the London Times and proclaimed it one of the best books of the year. That provoked a variety of responses from European critics, many of whom declared the book filthy and accused it of bordering on pedophilia. It did not help that Olympia Press, while the publisher of such highly respected authors as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, and William S. Burroughs, had also been known for issuing works that today would be categorized as soft-core pornography. The negative publicity contributed to the book's banning in Britain, as well as in Paris for two years beginning in December 1956.
By contrast, when Lolita was published in the United States by Putnam in 1958, it was an enormous success. Advance word, including a 90-page excerpt appearing in Anchor Review, as well as its selection by a book club and laudatory blurbs by Greene, William Styron, and Lionel Trilling, helped the book to sell 100,000 copies in the first three weeks—a feat previously accomplished only by Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind in 1934.
The success of Lolita had a significant impact on Nabokov's life and career. Student enrollment in his course in popular literature at Cornell was second only to the singer Pete Seeger's class on folk songs. The furor that the novel raised caused it to be widely read, and Nabokov gained both fame and fortune as a result. Within a few years, he would earn enough money to ensure that he never had to teach again.
In 1961 Nabokov moved to Monteux, Switzerland, where he would continue to write and publish fiction, some of it autobiographical in nature. Among these works were Pnin (1957), Pale Fire (1962), and Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle (1969). Accustomed to a simple lifestyle, he did not buy a house, but was content to live in a Swiss hotel. He died in Switzerland on July 2, 1977. Nabokov's works would not be published in the Soviet Union until 1986.