The Real Lolita A Lost Girl, An Unthinkable Crime and Scandalous Masterpiece

The gripping, previously untold true story of the child abduction that inspired Vladimir Nabokov's LOLITA'Nuanced and compassionate true-crime reportage and revelatory cultural and literary history' Megan Abbott Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is one of the most beloved and notorious novels of all time. And yet, very few of its readers know that the subject of the novel was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of eleven-year-old Sally Horner. Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, The Real Lolita restores Sally Horner to her rightful place in the lore of the novel's creation. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records, and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.