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Fw: Nabokov in Ireland?
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----- Original Message -----
From: Ludger Tolksdorf
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 10:56 PM
Subject: Nabokov in Ireland?
Dear list,
the following is a letter to the editor of the TLS:
"Nabokov in Ireland?"
Sir, - I send this by way of a footnote to the correspondence on Lolita (most recently, May 7). In the 1960s, when he had read my copy of the book, my father was convinced that the author was the Russian student whom he had spoken to us about. During the summer months his family took in guests into their home in the Burren near the village of Quilty. On many occasions he had told us of a student from Cambridge who had stayed for a week or so in the early 1920s and had come to net butterflies, which activity had caused amazement. Sadly, because of the rain the poor visitor was frustrated at having to spend so much time indoors. My father's boast was of having defeated a Russian at chess. He was convinced however that the student must have been Nabokov because the name of the character Clare Quilty was the address of their house at Quilty, County Clare.
BRIAN GILMORE 5 Maneagha Court, Corcomroe, County Clare.
Best regards,
Ludger Tolksdorf
P.S.: Perhaps I should point out that my revelations concerning "An Affair of Honour" and "Cloud, Castle, Lake" a few weeks ago were indeed offered in jest. The above letter is not a fabrication of mine: it is currently available at http://www.the-tls.co.uk/letters/.