"The Amazing Music of Truth": Nabokov's Sources for Godunov's Central Asian Travels in The Gift

In Chapter 2 of his novel Dar/The Gift (1933-38), Nabokov had the protagonist's father undertake the explorative journey to Central Asia that he in his youth would have liked to undertake himself. It now can safely be said that none of the colorful and evocative detail of this imaginary travelogue is invented. To compose it, Nabokov must have closely and carefully studied more than twenty historical sources. Up to now, about 34 percent of the roughly 105 "items" that make up his text and that range from single facts to whole paragraphs had been traced to specific sources. This article brings the count up to 92 percent.