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I've been reading Roy's translation of Kamera obskura. While at times
heavily reworked, the text of Camera obscura differs less substantially
from Laughter in the Dark than I would have thought, and Nabokov clearly
used it as a basis for the novel's second translation. (He didn't start
from scratch). I'm wondering what is known about Winifred Roy and
whether
she ever translated anything else. Is there any tangible evidence of her
having had a real life? Is there any record of her reaction to the
second English version? How did she feel about the replacement of Roy by
Rex? Has she figured to any extent in Nabokov scholarship?
In a note published in Nabokv-L nearly a decade ago, Don Barton Johnson
refers to an earlier article by him which observes that Roy translated
the novel not from the Russian but from the French. I would be
grateful for the citation to that article.
many thanks,
Eric Naiman