EDITOR's NOTE. Thanks to Carolyn Kunin for this
reference. A search of the NABOKV-l Archive will turn up further material on the
subject. Mary Bellino is quite knowledgeable about the topic. I touch on it in a
recent article on VN and Walter de la Mare.
Those interested in Nabokov's interest in spiritualism will find
the following book very useful: Spiritualism in Tsarist Society and
Literature by Thomas E. Berry, published by the Edgar Allan Poe Society,
1985. It was first published serially in The Journal of Religion and
Psychical Research (no specifics given) as 'Seances for the
Tsars."
The book looks at spiritualism in Russia in the context of native
folk beliefs and western influence.
The Table of
Contents:
Witchcraft and Superstitions in Russian History The Reign of
Catherine the Great: Spiritualism in the Rational Eighteenth Century The
Reign of Alexander I: Spiritualism in the Royal Court and in Russian Literary
Stylization The Reign of Nicholas I: Censorship and Anagogic
Literature The Reign of Alexander II: Seances in the Winter Palace The
Reign of Alexander III: Spiritualism on a Par with Empirical Reality The
Reign of Nicholas II: Mysticism and Seances in Russian Society and
Literature
Of particular interest are the many references to the medium
David Home in whom Nabokov expressed a particular interest.