Lolita...

Day 2,989, 23:46 • Published in United Kingdom United Kingdom • by Duchess of Sin

My dearest readers requested a blonde in a school uniform and I must say, I had a nice photo lined up already. Alas, some do find the fleeting power of the report button ample compensation for their lack of ... well, let's say no more, shall we?

So alas, no photo today, but that doesn't make the article less scandalous, for today, I will talk about that other school girl: Lolita.

'Lolita' is a novel by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov, written in 1955. Nabokov had fled both the Russian Revolution and the Great War, ending up in Paris, New York City and, where else, London. 'Lolita' is the story of 37 year old literary professor Humbert who has developed an unhealthy fancy for the 12 year old Dolores, nicknamed 'Lolita'.

Due to the age difference between the protagonists and the sometimes explicit and brutal sexual nature of the book, it was highly controversial and banned in quite a long list of countries.


Eventually, at the very end of 1955, Graham Greene, in the London Sunday Times, called it one of the three best books of 1955. This statement provoked a response from the London Sunday Express, whose editor John Gordon called it "the filthiest book I have ever read" and "sheer unrestrained pornography." British Customs officers were then instructed by a panicked Home Office to seize all copies entering the United Kingdom.In December 1956, France followed suit, and the Minister of the Interior banned Lolita; the ban lasted for two years. Its eventual British publication by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in London in 1959 was controversial enough to contribute to the end of the political career of the Conservative member of parliament Nigel Nicolson, one of the company's partners. Still, despite being banned for a long time, Lolita is considered to be one of the greatest works of literature of the 20th century.

So, shout, vote, subscribe, comment and delight to show your support for all things scandalous and remember, darlings, it's not because it's banned, it's not any good 😉