Victor X

This fascinating memoir was written by an expatriate Russian who had found considerable interest in Havelock Ellis’ seminal ‘Studies in the Psychology of Sex’, and who wished to apprise Ellis of his own personal experiences in that area. The edition, by Donald Rayfield, uses a French translation, and provides a substantial analytical postscript to the work, dealing with several aspects of it. Victor X had an early introduction to sex, courtesy of a large number of obliging young females who took ample use of the free sexual morality of Russia at that time to complement his academic education with many practical exercises of the characteristics of their gender. Victor was driven by a deeply intellectual interest in his subject, constrained by a substantial fear of both venereal disease and masturbation, and he managed to develop a curiously detached view of sex, without become involved in emotional attachments with his many partners. His preference in females was for the (extremely) youthful. Rayfield’s illuminating ‘Postface’ sets the memoirs into a credible geographical and social context, and brings out links between this work and Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’, Nabokov being known to have been very interested in it. There is little in the literature that gives insights into this side of Russian life, and that in itself does much to commend the book.… (altro)