Congratulations to Sophia Houghton ’21.

The International Vladimir Nabokov Society has awarded its 2021 Ellen Pifer Prize for best undergraduate essay to Sophia Hougton ’21.  Her study “Fated text, autonomous design: Aubrey Beardsley’s spectral legacy in Lolita” was written under the supervision of Prof. Stanislav Shvabrin, originally for CMPL/RUSS 477 SS 1 2020.  It “is a superb combination of original research and meticulous analysis. Her essay proves that Nabokov’s Lolita is linked in subtle and revealing ways to Beardsley’s intriguing work. In short, Ms. Houghton’s essay richly deserves the Pifer Prize for this important contribution to Nabokov scholarship” (link).