Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In Canto Three of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes his heart attack and mentions Hurricane Lolita and his wife’s portrait by Lang:

It was a year of Tempests: Hurricane
Lolita swept from Florida to Maine.
Mars glowed. Shahs married. Gloomy Russians spied.
Lang made your portrait. And one night I died. (ll. 679-682)

In his note to Line 682 (Lang) Kinbote (Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) writes:

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) quotes Arnor’s poem about a miragarl (mirage girl), for whose "careful jewels" a dream king in the sandy wastes of time would give tri stana verbalala (three hundred camels) ut tri phantana (and three fountains):

Describing his rented house, 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 his landlord’s four daughters (Alphina, Betty, Candida and Dee):

When Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN's novel Ada, 1969) visits her at Brownhill (Ada's school for girls), Ada wears a shiny black raincoat and a down-brimmed oilcloth hat as if somebody is to be salvaged from the perils of life or sea:

At the beginning of VN's novel Ada (1969) Van Veen (the narrator and main character) mentions the Severn Tories (Severnïya Territorii), that tesselated protectorate still lovingly called ‘Russian’ Estoty, which commingles, granoblastically and organically, with ‘Russian’ Canady, otherwise ‘French’ Estoty:

At the beginning of VN's novel Ada (1969) Van Veen (the narrator and main character) mentions the Severn Tories (Severnïya Territorii), that tesselated protectorate still lovingly called ‘Russian’ Estoty, which commingles, granoblastically and organically, with ‘Russian’ Canady, otherwise ‘French’ Estoty:

Describing Kim Beauharnais’s album, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the kimera (chimera, camera):

At the end of the dinner in 'Ursus' (the best Franco-Estotian restaurant in Manhattan Major) Ada declares "we are satiated with moonlight and strawberry soufflé:"

‘I declare we are satiated with moonlight and strawberry soufflé — the latter, I fear, has not quite "risen" to the occasion,’ remarked Ada in her archest, Austen-maidenish manner. ‘Let’s all go to bed. You have seen our huge bed, pet? Look, our cavalier is yawning "fit to declansh his masher"’ (vulgar Ladore cant).

At the end of the dinner in 'Ursus' (the best Franco-Estotian restaurant in Manhattan Major) Ada declares "we are satiated with moonlight and strawberry soufflé:"

‘I declare we are satiated with moonlight and strawberry soufflé — the latter, I fear, has not quite "risen" to the occasion,’ remarked Ada in her archest, Austen-maidenish manner. ‘Let’s all go to bed. You have seen our huge bed, pet? Look, our cavalier is yawning "fit to declansh his masher"’ (vulgar Ladore cant).

Describing his debauch à trois with Ada and Lucette in his Manhattan penthouse apartment, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions a karavanchik of cigarettes on the bedtable: