Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In his poem about a miragarl ("mirage girl") quoted by Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) in his commentary the society poet and sculptor Arnor mentions a dream king in the sandy wastes of time and three hundred camels:

Describing a meeting with his colleagues at Kingston (Van’s American University), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions a gallon of Gallows Ale:

Shade’s murderer, Jakob Gradus (one of the three main characters in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) is a member of the Shadows (a regicidal organization):

Describing his first meeting with Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962), Kinbote (Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions a bottle of good college ale with which he would content himself:

In his commentary to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) calls Professor Pnin, the Head of the bloated Russian Department at Wordsmith University, "a regular martinet in regard to his underlings:"

According to Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla), Leningradus (as Kinbote mockingly calls Jakob Gradus, Shade's murderer) should not aim his peashooter at people even in dreams:

Describing the death of Queen Blenda, Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Otar, the Prince's platonic pal, a pleasant and cultured adeling with a tremendous nose and sparse hair:

Describing the death of Queen Blenda, Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Otar, the Prince's platonic pal, a pleasant and cultured adeling with a tremendous nose and sparse hair:

In his commentary to Shade's poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) describes the Prince's cohabitation with Fleur de Fyler (the younger daughter of Countess de Fyler, Queen Blenda's lady-in-waiting) and mentions a rather kitschy prattle and the Prince's kamergrum (groom of the chamber):

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) speaks of his dead daughter and mentions the school pantomime in which she appeared as Mother Time (while other children of her age were cast as elves and fairies):

It was no use, no use. The prizes won

In French and history, no doubt, were fun;

At Christmas parties games were rough, no doubt,

And one shy little guest might be left out;

But let's be fair: while children of her age

Were cast as elves and fairies on the stage