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Nabokov in Waugh and Mitford (fwd)
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From: Wayne Daniels <wdaniels@gwmail.mtrl.toronto.on.ca>
Nabokovians appear all-seeing. Yes they do. But I could be wrong.
Anyway, I found these nice bits in _The Letters of Nancy Mitford and
Evelyn Waugh_. Charlotte Mosley, ed. (London : Hodder and Stoughton,
1996).
LOLITA
EW, 11 Jan. 1956:
Graham Greene recommended a pornographic book [_Lolita_] in the
_Sunday Times_. I mean the sort of book you go to jug for.
NM, 19 May 1959:
The Turkish Ambassodor said of _Lolita_ (an indecent book that is
enjoying a vogue in America) "I don't like reading about such things.
I prefer to see them."
NM, 22 May 1959:
Don't you think _Lolita_ an excellent novel? I _did_ love it.
EW, 29 June 1959:
No, I didn't think _Lolita_ any good except as smut. As that it was
highly exciting to me.
PALE FIRE
NM, 28 Nov. 1962:
Do you love _Pale Fire_? Oh how I screamed with laughter. Largely
written in Harold Acton's voice, I thought.
EW, [Dec. 1962]:
I enjoyed _Pale Fire_ awfully & thought the poem no parody or
pastiche but a jolly good composition in its own right. _Much_ better
than _Lolita_. But a show-off. Too clever by half. But a pleasure.
__________________________________________________________________
Yes, well, Bunny Wilson it ain't, I guess. Still, it's interesting
how Waugh captures that peculiar oscillation one sometimes
experiences reading N., from wonder and delight at his performance to
mild annoyance at same, and back to admiration once more. I suspect
N. will always inspire that sort of thing. BTW, there are more
examples of this, expressed by proto- or quasi-Pnin Marc Szeftel in
Galya's admirable _Pniniad_. In my not especially humble opinion, you
should all rush out a buy a copy. Wonderful stuff, I thought.
Oh, there's something else about the composer cousin. Apparently
Nicholas Nabokov ("a most attractive amusing man" -- NM) had the
notion to make _The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold_ into a short opera.
Curious idea. Does anyone know anything more about this? At any rate,
Waugh replied: "Nabokov may make an opera about _Pinfold_ if I may
sing in it & design the scenery."
Cheers,
Wayne Daniels
Toronto Reference Library
Nabokovians appear all-seeing. Yes they do. But I could be wrong.
Anyway, I found these nice bits in _The Letters of Nancy Mitford and
Evelyn Waugh_. Charlotte Mosley, ed. (London : Hodder and Stoughton,
1996).
LOLITA
EW, 11 Jan. 1956:
Graham Greene recommended a pornographic book [_Lolita_] in the
_Sunday Times_. I mean the sort of book you go to jug for.
NM, 19 May 1959:
The Turkish Ambassodor said of _Lolita_ (an indecent book that is
enjoying a vogue in America) "I don't like reading about such things.
I prefer to see them."
NM, 22 May 1959:
Don't you think _Lolita_ an excellent novel? I _did_ love it.
EW, 29 June 1959:
No, I didn't think _Lolita_ any good except as smut. As that it was
highly exciting to me.
PALE FIRE
NM, 28 Nov. 1962:
Do you love _Pale Fire_? Oh how I screamed with laughter. Largely
written in Harold Acton's voice, I thought.
EW, [Dec. 1962]:
I enjoyed _Pale Fire_ awfully & thought the poem no parody or
pastiche but a jolly good composition in its own right. _Much_ better
than _Lolita_. But a show-off. Too clever by half. But a pleasure.
__________________________________________________________________
Yes, well, Bunny Wilson it ain't, I guess. Still, it's interesting
how Waugh captures that peculiar oscillation one sometimes
experiences reading N., from wonder and delight at his performance to
mild annoyance at same, and back to admiration once more. I suspect
N. will always inspire that sort of thing. BTW, there are more
examples of this, expressed by proto- or quasi-Pnin Marc Szeftel in
Galya's admirable _Pniniad_. In my not especially humble opinion, you
should all rush out a buy a copy. Wonderful stuff, I thought.
Oh, there's something else about the composer cousin. Apparently
Nicholas Nabokov ("a most attractive amusing man" -- NM) had the
notion to make _The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold_ into a short opera.
Curious idea. Does anyone know anything more about this? At any rate,
Waugh replied: "Nabokov may make an opera about _Pinfold_ if I may
sing in it & design the scenery."
Cheers,
Wayne Daniels
Toronto Reference Library