Vladimir Nabokov's 'Lolita' not only created a sensation among the writer's contemporaries—it remains one of the most popular novels in the world to this day. However, few people know that the book's plot is largely inspired by the kidnapping of Sally Horner, an eleven-year-old girl Nabokov learned about from newspapers. Sarah Weinman, journalist and editor of the website CrimeReads, sheds light on Horner's tragic fate for the first time since the 1950s and describes the circumstances under which Nabokov's acclaimed novel was created.

'The Real Life of Lolita,' drawing on court documents, the memoirs of Horner's relatives, previously unpublished FBI materials, and the testimonies of Nabokov's loved ones, forces us to look at a familiar story from a new perspective—and to consider how artistic depictions of real events can influence our perception of crime.