Agrippina

She was the sister of the infamous debaucherous 1st century Roman emperor, Caligula, and mother of Nero, a murderous emperor. Agrippina was no stranger to debauchery and murder herself. There were multiple accusations of incest and homicide against her. It does seem probable that, at the very least, she killed her third husband, The Emperor Claudius (and her own uncle), so that Nero could be king. In the end, Nero had her killed. There are, of course, lots of inconsistencies in the story of her life. It was a long time ago. However, it is very clear that she was a truly ambitious woman and did not see a lot of lines she would not cross.

Appearance in the Novel:
Source(s):http://www.roman-emperors.org/aggieii.htm

"Let's Groove"

This is an Earth, Wind, and Fire song from the 1981 album Raise. A sample of the lyrics:

Move yourself and glide like a 747

lose yourself in the sky

among the clouds in the heavens

Let this groove, light up your fuse,

alright Let this groove,

If you would like to hear a sample check out www.last.fm/music/Earth+Wind+%2526+Fire/_/Let's+Groove

Needless to say, it is a little surreal to think of a bunch of very sincere high school boys singing this song in a library to Blue.

Appearance in the Novel:
Source(s):http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thewaterboy/letsgroove.htm

Sunny von Bulow

She is an heiress that has been in a vegetative state for over 25 years. This comma is apparently the result of a bad reaction to an insulin shot. It is suspicious enough, however, that her husband was convicted of her attempted murder. His conviction was overturned though, which was the basis for the movie Reversal of Fortune. The implicated husband, Claus von Bulow, is actually her second husband. Her first husband was an Austrian prince.

Appearance in the Novel:
Source(s):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_von_Bülow

Anita Ekberg

Anita Ekberg was a former Miss Sweden, Miss Universe contestant, a minor movie star, and a popular pinup girl. She was most famous for her incredibly (and supposedly natural) physique. Her most famous role was in Felleni's La Dolce Vita. She dated some of the most sought after men of the 50's and 60's, and apparently her love life was the most interesting thing about her. She lives in Italy now.

Jade goes to the costume party dressed as Anita Ekberg in the movie La Dolce Vita. Blue says that she has a stuffed kitten duct taped to her head. Apparently, in the famous scene where Anita dances in Trevi Fountain, she has a kitten on her head. I have seen this movie, and I don't remember this. I guess that means I wasn't paying very close attention; that sounds difficult to forget.

Appearance in the Novel: 154
Source(s):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Ekberg; http://www.amazon.com/Dolce-Vita-Marcello-Mastroianni/dp/6300208591

Leopold and Loeb

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two Chicago teens that kidnapped and murdered a fourteen year old boy in 1924. The two were very intelligent, wealthy boys in a sexual relationship. The motives for the murder are not completely clear, but it does seem that Loeb had always been fascinated by crime and wanted to commit the perfect crime. Leopold may have suggested that they commit the murder to please Loeb and bring the two closer together. They kidnapped and killed another well-off boy that they knew and attempted to get a ransom out of his parents before the body was discovered. The two were only implicated in the crime because Leopold had dropped his glasses near the body. They eventually confessed, (though they both maintained that the other one did the actual killing) and the "trial of the century" was the sentencing. They were spared the death penalty and given life in prison. Loeb was killed in prison in 1936, while Leopold spent 34 years behind bars, studying and working. He was eventually paroled and lived out the rest of his life as a professor in Puerto Rico. The famous litigator, Clarence Darrow defended the pair at their sentencing.

Appearance in the Novel: 160
Source(s):http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/leoploeb/leopold.htm

"Annabel Lee"

This is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe that describes the lost love of the narrator and his belief that she was stolen by jealous angels and returns to him in the form of moonlight. It is overall, terribly sappy and trite (as is much of Poe's poetry). The only reason I can figure that Blue associates this particular poem with Lu is that she is meant to be a Gothicly romantic character.

Interesting side note: Annabel Leigh is the character that supposedly spurs Humbert's obsession with "Nymphets" in Nabokov's Lolita. Pessl has said that Nabokov is one of her biggest literary influences. Given the point at which this reference appears in the text, there may be a connection. Check out Lolita if you want to know what it is.

Appearance in the Novel: 136
Source(s):http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/poetry/annabel.html

Christabel

"Christabel" is an unfinished poem by Samuel Coleridge. It is about a young woman, whose mother died giving birth to her, who finds a distressed woman named Geraldine in the woods at night. The woman claims to have been kidnapped from her home. Christabel takes her home with her and lets her spend the night in her bed. Then it appears that Geraldine puts a spell on Christabel and Christabel is unsure whether she has spent a "sinful" night. When she introduces Geraldine to her father the next morning, her father is appalled by her story of kidnapping and vows to make the bad guys pay. At some point the "spell" wears off of Christabel, and she begs her father to throw Geraldine out of the house. Her father is now enthralled and is very unhappy with this suggestion. The poem ends here, and there is a really fantastical ending that has been written by another poet who claimed to have known what Coleridge was going to do with it.

It is really interesting that Blue makes a point of saying that she doesn't sign the note she leaves for her dad "Love, Christabel." At first I thought this meant that she usually signs things that way (and that probably is what it means) but now that I have read the poem, this is a really strange reference to make. If she is Christabel then the reference is really ominous. Especially if you see Geraldine as Hannah. This is just one of many references that seems harmless and meaningless at first, but when you know the source material, it gets dark.

Appearance in the Novel: 85
Source(s): http://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Christabel.html