In the list of "Other Books by the Narrator" in LATH, under "In English" are several easily identifiable reflections of VN titles, with dates. These are: "See under Real, 1939" (The Real Life of Seb. Knight); then "Esmeralda and Her Parandrus, 1941"; "Dr. Olga Repnin, 1946" (Pnin); "Exile from Mayda, 1947" (Pale Fire); "A Kingdom by the Sea, 1962" (Lolita); and "Ardis, 1970" (Ada).
In terms of the order of composition, "Esmeralda and her Parandrus" should be "Bend Sinister." I think it is. Esmeralda is the gypsy maiden heroine of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame;" a "Parandrus" is a mythical beast, capable of changing the color of its coat. In some ways, the naive but good-hearted Esmeralda, who comes to a bad end, is like Krug; Paduk is bestial and changeable.
I am also interested in this book as a reference to Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida." "Parandrus" is very close to "Pandarus" (that's actually how I read it the first time through!). This possible reading is strengthened by several other "T and C" references in the novel, and by the fact that (p. 138) the title is mistaken for "Emerald and the Pander."
Does this reading make sense to other Nabokovians?