We’ve told you about Bookride before. As is the norm for the blog they have presented yet another gem. Bookride, as you know if you are a regular reader, is one of my favorite book sites. Brought to you by Charing Cross Books, they take an interesting, unique and/or important book and describe it with a little background information on the times it was written, the author or subject. This week there is a typically well done piece on Lolita and the Late Great Vladimir Nabakov.

The quest to get ‘Lolita’ published is well known. It is said there were 5000 copies of the first edition. A friend, now a venerable book dealer, worked for Maurice Girodias, the book’s publisher in Paris, during the 1950s. He used to bring them over to the UK to sell for a premium as a filthy, banned book. British Customs officers had been instructed by the Home Office to seize all copies entering the United Kingdom. He recalls trips where he failed to sell all copies and rather than return with them he had to abandon copies in bus stations, phone boxes etc. original article here

Please take a visit, you’ll love it and if you’ve ever wondered ‘How much is a first edition of Lolita‘ is you’ll get your answer.