The book "Lolita" By Nabokov V. In English

Nabokov V.V., Paris, 1955

[First Edition] Nabokov, V. Lolita. [In English] In 2 vols. t. 1-2. Paris: Olympia press, 1955. Vol. 1: 224 p. t. 2: 10, 13-190 p. 18×11 cm. In two publishing covers. In collectible preservation.

American publishers rejected the manuscript of the novel one by one. One of them, worried about the possible consequences for publishers and for the author, suggested publishing the novel in Paris. The novel was first published in France by the Olympia Press publishing house, which, as Nabokov realized after publication, produced "semi-pornographic" and related literature. A year later, Lolita was banned in France (1956-1958, and the publication was withdrawn from sale and destroyed). The U.S. Customs Department, on the contrary, established in February 1957 that the book was not objectionable and could be imported into the country. Thus, the book could not be legally exported from France, but those who managed to smuggle it could legally import it into the United States.

Nabokov himself recalled: "The first edition with copious typos, published in two volumes in Paris (Olympia Press, 1955), was bought rather sluggishly by American tourists until it caught the eye of Graham Greene, who praised the book in a London newspaper. He and Lolita were attacked in another London newspaper by a reactionary feuilletonist, one John Gordon, and his virtuous horror attracted everyone's attention to Lolita..."