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Lolita
29 April 2006
Ach, here's a disappointment. I've been reading Tolkien's Gown by Rick Gekoski, which is a lovely book about dealing in rare books; and in the chapter about Graham Greene's copy of Nabokov's Lolita (the true first edition and personalised both ways, signed to GG by VN, plus the ritual sketch of a butterfly - that sort of rare book is what we're talking here), Gekoski notes en passant that when the book came out in a popular edition and caused a terrible scandal, the town of Lolita, Texas changed its name to Jackson. It's a wonderful story - such prurient pique! - but alas, it isn't true. Apparently the name-change was discussed, but never happened. Sigh.
© Chaz Brenchley 2006
Reproduced here by permission of Chaz Brenchley, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.