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The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World Audiobook
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“The Real Lolita is a tour de force of literary detective work. Not only does it shed new light on the terrifying true saga that influenced Nabokov’s masterpiece, it restores the forgotten victim to our consciousness.” —David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon
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 tells Sally Horner’s full story for the very first time. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records, and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Nabokov knew of the Sally Horner case and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing Lolita.
Sally Horner’s story echoes the stories of countless girls and women who never had the chance to speak for themselves. By diving deeper in the publication history of Lolita and restoring Sally to her rightful place in the lore of the novel’s creation, The Real Lolita casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.
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“Sarah Weinman’s captivating, heartrending The Real Lolita offers both nuanced and compassionate true-crime reportage and revelatory cultural and literary history. It will, quite simply, change the way you think about Lolita and ‘Lolitas’ forever.”
— Megan Abbott, author of Give Me Your Hand
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“Glimpses into Nabokov’s process will tantalize die-hard fans, and true-crime aficionados will relish Weinman’s assiduous reporting. The book also memorializes Horner’s too-brief life: She died in a car crash just two years after being freed.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Weinman’s gripping work of true crime challenges a culture that privileges artistic genius over a child’s life.”
— Huffington Post -
“Weinman argues that the road-trip and school details provided Nabokov with the scaffolding he needed to finish Lolita… She’s essentially clinched the case.”
— Atlantic -
“Part true crime story, part literary mystery…Gorgeously written, The Real Lolita reads like a novel and will thrill and captivate readers.”
— PopSugar -
“This intricate balance of journalism and cultural critique is perfect for historical crime readers, feminist scholars, victims’ rights advocates, and literature lovers. Recommended as a squirm-inducing read-along with Nabokov’s novel.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Drawing from interviews with relatives of those involved, Nabokov’s personal documents, and court reporting from La Salle’s trial, Weinman tells Sally’s tragic story as it has never been told before, with sensitivity and depth.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A tantalizing, entertaining true-life detective and literary story whose roots were hidden deep in a novel that has perplexed and challenged readers for decades.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Weinman’s sensitive insights into Horner’s struggle play in stunning counterpoint to her illuminations of Nabokov’s dark obsession and literary daring and Lolita’s explosive impact.”
— Booklist -
“Sarah Weinman delivers a thoroughly riveting and heartbreaking narrative that weaves the very best of true crime writing with the darker elements of literary inspiration.”
— Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize–winning author -
“The Real Lolita is a tour de force of literary detective work. Not only does it shed new light on the terrifying true saga that influenced Nabokov’s masterpiece, it restores the forgotten victim to our consciousness.”
— David Grann, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Awards
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice
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An Oprah’s Book Club Selection
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About Sarah Weinman
Sarah Weinman is the editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives. She covers book publishing for Publishers Marketplace and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Republic, the Guardian, and Buzzfeed, among other outlets. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.