Vladimir Nabokov was teaching at Cornell when his most famous work was published in September 1955.
By his own account, he completed “Lolita” in Ithaca at the end of 1953 and spent over a year trying – and failing – to find a U.S. publisher willing to take on the controversial book. Disheartened, Nabokov wrote to his literary agent in Paris, and she eventually placed the book.
The Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections has a wealth of “Lolita” material, including documents covering the history of its publication, first editions, manuscript letters and Nabokov’s own copies of some of his works.
Visit Kroch Library, level 2B or take a look at the online exhibit. -- http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/lolita/introduction/