Subject
Re: VN trivia: Lewis Carroll
Date
Body
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@UCSBVM.ucsb.edu>
Subject: Re: VN trivia
"J. A. Rea" <JAREA@UKCC.uky.edu>
Considering VVN's translation of _Alice_, I'm intrigued by a handful of
things I've come across in a biography of Dodgson I'm in the process of
reading. On p 4 line 4 I note, first, that the common grandfather of
parents (they were first cousins!) was the Bishop of Elphin. On p 23 I
learn that in the "family" magazine _Rectory Umbrella_ of 1848, and in
the actually published _Whitby Gazette of 1853_, Dodgson signed with the
initials "B. B.", as VVN often did in the Wilson correspondence. Then
on p 73 I learn that he wrote a verse, "Palace of Humbug" published in
the _Oxford Critic_, while "A Sea Dirge" published 1862 in _Temple Bar_
is patterned metricallyy on "Annabel Lee".
That's as far as I've gotten so far in the book, but have a sneaking hunch
that someone (not me!) very familiar with VN's works could profitably
give this recent Dodgson bio and others a serious read looking for more
influence and hints. Of course these could all be coincidences of the
sort our topical author had great appreciation for!
John
Subject: Re: VN trivia
"J. A. Rea" <JAREA@UKCC.uky.edu>
Considering VVN's translation of _Alice_, I'm intrigued by a handful of
things I've come across in a biography of Dodgson I'm in the process of
reading. On p 4 line 4 I note, first, that the common grandfather of
parents (they were first cousins!) was the Bishop of Elphin. On p 23 I
learn that in the "family" magazine _Rectory Umbrella_ of 1848, and in
the actually published _Whitby Gazette of 1853_, Dodgson signed with the
initials "B. B.", as VVN often did in the Wilson correspondence. Then
on p 73 I learn that he wrote a verse, "Palace of Humbug" published in
the _Oxford Critic_, while "A Sea Dirge" published 1862 in _Temple Bar_
is patterned metricallyy on "Annabel Lee".
That's as far as I've gotten so far in the book, but have a sneaking hunch
that someone (not me!) very familiar with VN's works could profitably
give this recent Dodgson bio and others a serious read looking for more
influence and hints. Of course these could all be coincidences of the
sort our topical author had great appreciation for!
John