What is Lolita? Chilling new Epstein photos reveal his obsession with a controversial 1950’s novel

The Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee on Thursday released 68 previously unpublished photographs from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, just a day before a statutory deadline requiring the Department of Justice to make public all unclassified files related to the Epstein investigation. No contextual explanation accompanied the release of the images. Among the most troubling photographs are images of a woman bearing what appear to be handwritten excerpts from Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ across different parts of her body. The presence of these passages, alongside a visible copy of the novel in one image, has drawn renewed attention to Epstein’s repeated references to the book and raised questions about its significance in his private world.

Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Vladimir Nabokov that examines the inner life of a middle-aged narrator who describes his obsession with a 12-year-old girl. The book is widely discussed in literary and cultural discourse because of its controversial subject matter and psychological depth.

Several of the newly released photos appear to show passages from Lolita written in black marker on different parts of an unidentified woman’s body. In one image, a blurred line across a chest reads “Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.” from Nabokov’s opening passage.

Another image shows text on a foot, which reads, "She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock". In the same image, which shows the woman’s lower leg and foot on what appears to be a bed, a paperback copy of Lolita was visible in the background.

Further excerpts appear near the neck reading "She was Dolly at school". Several quotes on other parts of the bodies including spine read, “She was Dolores on the dotted line" and “She was Lola in slacks”.

According to multiple media reports, including The Independent, Epstein kept a first-edition copy of Lolita in the office of his New York City residence.

The Oversight Committee has stated the photos were released to increase transparency, but the estate and committee have not supplied context for when or why these particular images were taken. They are part of about 95,000 images that the US Congress obtained from Epstein’s estate and has been releasing to the public in trickles. The latest of these photos also include materials such as passports, identification cards and text message screenshots.

The term 'Lolita Express' has appeared in media reporting on Epstein for years. The term refers to Epstein’s private Boeing 727 jet that often transported his associates and visitors between properties, and became a shorthand in public discourse because of its association with underage girls.

The images also include redacted passports from multiple countries and screenshots of late-night text threads discussing the sending of 'girls,' with references to fees and age. The sender says, “I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today”, adding, “But she asks 1000$ per girl”. The following messages read: “I will send u girls now”, and “Maybe someone will be good for J?”. Faces of women and girls in the photos have been redacted to protect privacy. Several high-profile and powerful men feature in the photographs including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Renowned linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky and US President Donald Trump's advisor Steve Bannon.