Lolita Resources
This page intends to be a place to find entry-level materials to help any kind of reader understand the concerns and issues at stake within Nabokov's novel Lolita. A good starting place is a quotation from a letter Véra Nabokov wrote to Elena Sikorski, Nabokov's sister, about the novel:
"This is not pornography but an amazing, most subtle analysis, from within, of a horrible maniac and the tragic fate of a defenseless girl. (V. has studied the laws on orphan guardianship, and there is no law that, in the given circumstances, would have hindered the events described in the novel.)" --Véra Nabokov, letter of Nov. 12, 1955.
This list is intended to evolve and grow, and suggestions are welcome. We include popular resources, as well as items intended for specialists and teachers of literature at all levels.
Jamie Loftus, Lolita Podcast
Julian Connolly, ed. A Reader's Guide to Lolita
Elena Rakhimova-Sommers, ed., Teaching Nabokov's Lolita in the #MeToo Era
Marie Bouchet, Yannicke Chupin, Agnès Edel-Roy and Julie Loison-Charles, eds., Lolita at 60 / Staging American Bodies.
Zoran Kuzmanovich & Galya Diment, eds, Approaches to Teaching Nabokov's Lolita
Ellen Pifer, ed., Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita: A Casebook
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, "Lolita, I Presume; On a Character Entitled 'Lolita'” (Miranda 3 (2010))
Agnès Edel-Roy, "Le vertige visionnaire de Lolita. #DitdeDolly." Cahier de l’Herne Vladimir Nabokov. Eds. Yannicke Chupin and Monica Manolescu, Paris: L’Herne, 2023.
Vanessa Springora, Dolores dans le texte." Cahier de l’Herne Vladimir Nabokov. Eds. Yannicke Chupin and Monica Manolescu, Paris: L’Herne, 2023.
Vanessa Springora, Consent. A Memoir. Translated by Natasha Lehrer, HarperVia, 2021.
Neige Sinno, Sad Tiger. Translated by Natasha Lehrer, Seven Stories Press, 2025.
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A full-ish list of scholarly publications on Lolita, from The Nabokovian's bibliography (results are below the search boxes).