Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0000865, Mon, 18 Dec 1995 16:29:18 -0800

Subject
Re: QUERY: RLSK (fwd)
Date
Body
Dear Dieter and others on list:

In return for your (singular and plural) responses to my queries about
volume 1 of the Library of America, here are the books on Sebastian's
shelves as annotated for the Library of America (which does not gloss
things available on a one-volume desk encyclopedia):

39 La morte d'Arthur] Arthurian romance, Le morte d'Arthur (1470), by Sir
Thomas Malory.

39 The Bridge of San Luis Rey] Novel (1927) by Thornton Wilder (1897-1975).

39 Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde] Novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde (1886), by Robert Louis Stevenson.

39 South Wind] Novel (1917) by Norman Douglas (1868-1952).

39 The Lady with the Dog] Short story, "Dama s sobachkoy" ("The Lady with
the Little Dog," 1899), by Anton Chekhov.

39 The Invisible Man] Novel (1897) by H. G. Wells.

39 Le Temps Retrouve] Last volume (Time Regained, 1927) of Marcel Proust's
novel A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time, 1913-27).

39 The Author of Trixie] The Author of "Trixie" (1923), comic novel by
William Caine (1873-1925).

39 Alice in Wonderland] Presumably Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
and perhaps also Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There
(1871), by Lewis Carroll. Nabokov, who translated the earlier volume into
Russian as Anya v strane chudes (Anya in Wonderland, 1923), regularly
refers only to "Alice in Wonderland."

39 About Buying a Horse] Humorous autobiographical sketches (1875) by Sir
Francis Cowley Burnand (1836-1917), later to become editor of Punch; part
of his series of Happy Thoughts.

I should add two points: a) I'd better not do this again, or the
Library of America will growl. The books will be out in 1996. b)
*The Author of "Trixie"* is a wonderful read, very RLSK-like, a
period piece and yet superbly playful in its self-consciousness.
Burnand's book is another matter.

Brian Boyd
From: Associate Professor Brian Boyd
English Department
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019 Auckland New Zealand
Fax (64 9) 373 7429 Tel (64 9) 373 7599 ext 7480
Home fax/tel: (64 9) 620 6597
e-mail: bboyd@auckland.ac.nz