Books: Lolita in Tunbridge Wells

Than Lolita, no book in years has been more talked about in Great Britain, and none less read. In the U.S., Vladimir Nabokov’s brilliantly written, shockingly decadent novel (TIME, Sept. 1) about a middle-aged man’s obsession with a teenage nymphet has been riding high on bestseller lists for more than four months. But the British, who usually consider themselves more sophisticated in such matters than Americans, have turned the case into a major public brawl involving a seat in Parliament, the British obscenity laws, Novelist Graham Greene, and some of Britain’s top literary critics.

The ruckus began four years ago when acerbic John Gordon, 68, chief editor of the sensational Sunday Express (circ. 3.426,753), noticed that Graham Greene had listed Lolita, then published by Olympia Press of Paris, as one of the best books of 1955. Gordon sent to Paris for a copy, pronounced it “about the filthiest book I’ve ever read.”

Greene pounced to the challenge, sarcastically announced the formation of the John Gordon Society, “in recognition of the struggle he has maintained for so many years against the insidious menace of pornography.” Greene organizers invited Gordon to address the first meeting, but the mockery backfired when Gordon packed the meeting with his supporters. “Greene, I reminded them,” says Gordon, “had once been sued by Shirley Temple for having said the little girl made her living out of displaying her thighs for the delectation of middle-aged gentlemen.”*

Suez Replaced. The book (published in the U.S. by Putnam) went the rounds of British publishers, was rejected by some (one indignant publisher reputedly tore the book up page by page), was finally accepted by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. But W. & N. decided to hold up publication pending possible modification of Britain’s vague pornography law, which gives any constable the right to seize books or have booksellers prosecuted if in his own judgment a book is obscene. Under a bill before Parliament since 1955, introduced by Author and Labor M.P. Roy Jenkins, the law would be modified to allow prosecution only if a book as a whole, rather than in individual passages, is judged obscene, would also allow the defense to summon expert witnesses on literary merit.

Britain’s Conservative government has not decided whether it will accept all or part of the Jenkins bill. But if the reform fails, Publishers George Weidenfeld and Nigel Nicolson risk prosecution should they bring out Lolita. The matter is complicated by the fact that Nicolson, 42, is also an M.P., who was previously in trouble with his local Bournemouth Conservative Association for opposing government policy on Suez (TiME, Feb. 2). Admitted a Conservative M.P. last week: “Lolita is the main issue. Suez has been replaced.” Said a local politico: “A director of a firm intending to publish this vulgar novel is no fitting representative for good Bournemouth citizens.”

Angled Tangle. While free from political pressure, Publisher Weidenfeld, 38, also came under attack. One columnist reported ominously on his “tangled matrimonial affairs.” The triangular tangle: not long ago, pro-Lolita Critic Cyril Connolly divorced his wife, citing Weidenfeld as corespondent. Soon after Weidenfeld married her. he in turn demanded a separation from the former Mrs. Connolly, citing her former husband. Relevant to the Lolita case or not, it was all ammunition for the newspaper chains’ heavy artillery, while Britain’s intellectuals rallied round the beleaguered publishers. Top Critic V. S. Pritchett said he could imagine “no book less likely to incite the corruptible reader.”

Meanwhile the Greene-Gordon crossfire boomed on. Greene announced that he was writing The Private Life of John Gordon, asked readers of the Spectator and the New Statesman for unpublished letters and anecdotes. Said Gordon: “I am thrilled …”

As the sounds of quarreling literati filled the air, Lolita continued to be freely available to the public at one place in Britain: the public library of the sedate spa town of Tunbridge Wells, which had simply ordered a copy three years ago from Paris. Nobody has tried to stop circulation of the Tunbridge Wells treasure, but there was not much of a queue for Lolita. Said the assistant librarian: “Demand has never been particularly high . . . Our top favorites at present are Doctor Zhivago, Monty’s memoirs and the life of King George VI.”

*Greene, then active as a movie critic, wrote a magazine article which referred to, among other things, her “dimpled depravity.” In 1938, Shir ley sued for libel, won a $10,000 settlement.