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Re: QUERY: Percy Elphinstone in Lolita
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There was a man named Percy Elphinstone. He was a captain (i think he was
a colonel later on) in Bombay, India during the 1800s. He had a son born
on July 21, 1863 and another one fought in WWI. I doubt he ever wrote
anything. I think Nabokov just chanced upon his name somewhere and decided
to use it because of the elf in Elphinstone.
Adrian Trench
[EDNOTE. This is a response to a query posted last October by Andrew Fippinger,
who asked if anyone knew "the real identity (if there is one) of Percy Elphinstone
from Lolita? I can't find his name or either of his "books" (A Vagabond in Italy
and Venice Revisited) in the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress,
or the British Museum." -- SES]
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a colonel later on) in Bombay, India during the 1800s. He had a son born
on July 21, 1863 and another one fought in WWI. I doubt he ever wrote
anything. I think Nabokov just chanced upon his name somewhere and decided
to use it because of the elf in Elphinstone.
Adrian Trench
[EDNOTE. This is a response to a query posted last October by Andrew Fippinger,
who asked if anyone knew "the real identity (if there is one) of Percy Elphinstone
from Lolita? I can't find his name or either of his "books" (A Vagabond in Italy
and Venice Revisited) in the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress,
or the British Museum." -- SES]
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm