Lolita [Title and text are in Russian]

New York: Phaedra Publishers, 1967. First Paperback edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Trade paperback. Fair. [8], 304 pages. Cover worn, soiled, and torn at spine. Name of previous owner on title page. Somewhat cocked. Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (22 April 1899 ? 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin, was a Russian novelist, poet, translator and entomologist. His first nine novels were written in Russian (1926?38), but he achieved international prominence after he began writing English prose. Nabokov became an American citizen in 1945. Nabokov's Lolita (1955) was ranked fourth in the list of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels in 2007; Pale Fire (1962) was ranked 53rd on the same list; and his memoir, Speak, Memory (1951), was listed eighth on publisher Random House's list of the 20th century's greatest nonfiction. He was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction seven times. Nabokov was also an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems. Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. Many authors consider it the greatest work of the 20th century, and it has been included in several lists of best books, such as Time's List of the 100 Best Novels, Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, Bokklubben World Library, Modern Library's 100 Best Novels, and The Big Read. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, with whom he becomes sexually involved after he becomes her stepfather. "Lolita" is his private nickname for Dolores. The novel was originally written in English and first published in Paris in 1955 by Olympia Press. Later it was translated into Russian by Nabokov himself and published in New York City in 1967 by Phaedra Publishers. Lolita quickly attained a classic status. Its assimilation into popular culture is such that the name "Lolita" has been used to imply that a young girl is sexually precocious.