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Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel, Lolita , was first published 70 years ago on Sept. 15, 1955

A new anniversary edition of the book, featuring an introduction by author Claire Messud, examines the novel's place in a modern context

“There's something very layered and complicated in what [Nabokov is] doing, in making a narrator who's so witty and charming and compelling,” Messud tells PEOPLE of the novel

When Vladimir Nabokov’s infamous novel, Lolita , was first published in Paris on Sept. 15, 1955, the backlash had already been building.

Narrated by kidnapper and pedophile Humbert Humbert as he recalls his obsession with his 12-year-old stepdaughter Dolores while awaiting trial for murder, the book was controversial at the time it was published. Its Russian-Ame

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