- Humbert was born in Paris in 1910, a mixture of Swiss, French, and Austrian descent.
- His father owned a luxury hotel on the Riviera, where he was raised with the help of an aunt, Sybil.
- His beautiful mother met her death in an accident, which he describes in two parenthetical words: "(picnic, lightning)" (1.2.1).
- The hotel was a lovely place to grow up.
- Humbert attended an English day school near the hotel.
- Then he met Annabel. Before her, his sexual experiences involved French movies and enjoying some French book he stole from the hotel library.
- So back to Annabel. When he met her, Humbert was alone, with no one to consult about matters of sex, as his father was off on a trip.