Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In 1938 VN translated his Russian novel Camera Obscura (1932) into English as Laughter in the Dark. Translated back into Russian, Laughter in the Dark becomes Smekh v temnote. In VN's novel Otchayanie ("Despair," 1934) Hermann Karlovich (the narrator and main character) mentions smekh v temnote (a laugh in the darkness):

Describing a conversation at the Faculty Club, 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 a visiting German lecturer from Oxford who said that King Charles wore no beard, and yet it was his very face:

Describing the difference between Terra and Antiterra (Earth's twin planet also known as Demonia), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN's novel Ada, 1969) mentions the details of the L disaster that happened on Demonia in the beau milieu of the 19th century:

Describing his face, Hermann Karlovich, the narrator and main character in VN's novel Otchayanie ("Despair," 1934), compares a vein on his forehead to nedocherchennaya "mysl'" (a capital M imperfectly drawn):

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), he has his moments of volatility and fou rire:

Line 270: My dark Vanessa

Describing his transatlantic journey with Lucette (Van's and Ada's half-sister) on Admiral Tobakoff, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the Helmeted Angel of the Yukonsk Ikon whose magic effect was said to change anemic blond maidens into konskie deti, freckled red-haired lads, children of the Sun Horse:

Quite kindly he asked where she thought she was going.

Describing his transatlantic journey with Lucette (Van's and Ada's half-sister) on Admiral Tobakoff, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the Helmeted Angel of the Yukonsk Ikon whose magic effect was said to change anemic blond maidens into konskie deti, freckled red-haired lads, children of the Sun Horse:

Quite kindly he asked where she thought she was going.

A character in VN’s novel Ada (1969), Dorothy Vinelander (Ada's sister-in-law) eventually marries a Mr Brod or Bred, tender and passionate, dark and handsome, who travels in eucharistials and other sacramental objects throughout the Severnïya Territorii:

She [Ada] asked for a handkerchief, and he [Van] pulled out a blue one from his windjacket pocket, but her tears had started to roll and she shaded her eyes, while he stood before her with outstretched hand.

Describing the torments and suicide of poor mad Aqua (the twin sister of Van’s, Ada’s and Lucette’s mother Marina), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions a Dr Froid, one of the administerial centaurs, and the Dr Froit of Signy-Mondieu-Mondieu in the Ardennes, both of whom came from Vienne, Isère:

In March 1905 Demon Veen (in VN's novel Ada, 1969, Van's and Ada's father) perishes in a mysterious airplane disaster above the Pacific. A month before Demon's death Ada (now married to Andrey Vinelander) wrote a letter to Van telling him that they can meet in October: