Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), all the hundred floramors (palatial brothels built by David van Veen, a wealthy architect of Flemish extraction, all over the world in memory of his grandson Eric) opened simultaneously on September 20, 1875:

In VN’s novel Bend Sinister (1947) Krug’s wife Olga is a regular radabarbara (full-blown handsome woman):

In VN’s novel Bend Sinister (1947) Paduk (the dictator of Padukgrad) is compared to Roman emperors Titus and Nero:

The characters in VN’s novel Bend Sinister (1947) include Paduk (nicknamed "The Toad"), the dictator of Padukgrad, former schoolmate of Krug and founder of Ekwilism. The name Paduk seems to hint at Glitay abozh pauk, as in Chekhov’s story Chelovek v futlyare (“The Man in a Case,” 1898) Kovalenko calls Belikov (the man in a case):

In VN’s novel Priglashenie na kazn’ (“Invitation to a Beheading,” 1935) the author of Quercus, a novel that Cincinnatus reads in the fortress, is compared to a man who sits with his camera somewhere among the topmost branches of the tree, spying out and catching his prey:

Inviting Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) to his place, Kinbote (Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) says that he is ready to share his favorite wine with his favorite poet:

The characters in Quercus, a novel that Cincinnatus, the main character in VN’s novel Priglashenie na kazn’ (“Invitation to a Beheading,” 1935), reads in the fortress, include three merry wayfarers, Tit, Pud, and the Wandering Jew:

Часы пробили семь, и вскоре явился Родион с обедом.

- Он, наверное, еще не приехал? - спросил Цинциннат.

Родион было ушел, но на пороге обернулся:

In a conversation at the faculty club John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) remarks that “kings do not die, they only disappear” and mentions Kinbote’s book on surnames:

Describing the death of Queen Blenda (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, the mother of Charles Xavier Vseslav), Kinbote (Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions the unshaven dark young nattdett (child of night) and the drunk who started to sing a ribald ballad about "Karlie-Garlie:"

In her last note poor mad Aqua (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, the twin sister of Van's, Ada's and Lucette's mother Marina) mentioned Nurse Joan the Terrible and Ruby Black (Van’s black wet-nurse who also went mad):