Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In VN’s novel Ada (1969) Eric Veen (the author of an essay entitled ‘Villa Venus: an Organized Dream’) derived his project from reading too many erotic works found in a furnished house his grandfather had bought near Vence from Count Tolstoy, a Russian or Pole (2.3).

In Canto One of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) mentions the Great Bear and the Milky Way:

That's Dr. Sutton's light. That's the Great Bear.
A thousand years ago five minutes were
Equal to forty ounces of fine sand.
Outstare the stars. Infinite foretime and
Infinite aftertime: above your head
They close like giant wings, and you are dead.

In VN’s novel Pale Fire (1962) Baron B.’s letter to Oswin Bretwit (quoted by Kinbote in his Commentary to Shade’s poem) ends in the Latin proverb verba volant, scripta manent (spoken words fly away, written words remain):

In VN’s novel Lolita (1955) Humbert Humbert (the narrator and main character) identifies himself as Adam:

In his Commentary to Shade’s poem Kinbote (who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Roman Tselovalnikov, a maternal uncle of Jakob Gradus (Shade’s murderer):

In his Commentary to Shade’s poem Kinbote (who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Roman Tselovalnikov, a maternal uncle of Jakob Gradus (Shade’s murderer):

From Kinbote’s note to Line 80 (“my bedroom”):

In his Commentary to Shade’s poem Kinbote (who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions the society sculptor and poet Arnor who used Fleur de Fyler’s breasts and feet for his Lilith Calling Back Adam: