I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 214 Paris Moves for Him Alone
I love it, I remember that beautiful day.

You and I saw that thing by the roadside;
Lying horizontally among the rocks and weeds,
A rotting corpse.

The scorching sun shone on the decaying...
Evaporation, boiling, and destruction, as if for laboratory testing.

It dissolves the original components that make up the whole.
Returning to nature.

Yes, even you are not immune, beautiful after all.
When the final prayer is recited for you,

Even such a beautiful figure cannot escape being buried in mud and grass.
To decay and perish with the dead.

Therefore, O love, command the hesitant worms,
It comes to kiss your life, to devour your skin.
I say my heart will forever cherish your beautiful image.

Even if your flesh is swarming with maggots!

—"The Corpse" (Note: A love poem Baudelaire wrote for his lover)
Generally, the premiere date of a new play is arranged by the theater based on the principle of maximizing profits. However, at the Montmartre Theater, because the theater manager, Étienne, had personally witnessed Mikhail's influence and financial resources, and felt that everything was basically ready, Étienne immediately consulted Mikhail's opinion:

"Mr. Mikhail, in your opinion, when would be the best day for the premiere of this play?"

Faced with this problem, Mikhail did not dwell on it too much. Instead, he chose a day with high visitor traffic based on Etienne's suggestion. After confirming the performance time, the remaining time to consider was the issue of promotion.

Regarding this matter, Etienne, based on his previous experience, said: "Then I will arrange the publicity. I will contact a few newspapers that our theater is familiar with and ask them to write some articles to promote it in the newspapers. If it is your play, they may give you more space."

However, as you know, things like this usually cost a considerable amount of money.

"No need, just go directly to these newspapers: *The Century*, *The News*, *The National*, and *The Daily*."

Etienne: "?"

Won't we go bankrupt by hiring so many newspapers?

Just as Etienne was thinking this, Mikhail, who had just mentioned the newspaper's name, waved his hand and said, "Then you can just say my name directly, and there's no need to mention money."

Etienne: "???"

Is that a lot of face?
Although Etienne was greatly shocked, seeing that Mikhail didn't seem to be joking, Etienne finally nodded blankly in agreement.

Strictly speaking, Mikhail didn't actually have that much influence in Paris; his influence was mostly limited to a series of transactions.

Since a theatrical performance is about to take place, Mikhail must have already considered the publicity issue and taken some action.

As for newspapers, simply put, in addition to the two new novels that are about to be published, Mikhail has also promised to contribute new novels to other newspapers and magazines, although it may be a little later, currently scheduled for 1850.

Mikhail addressed the somewhat hesitant newspaper owner quite seriously, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely write new works. If I fail to submit my work on time, you can come to Russia to find me, and I will make it up to you!"

To be honest, if it were 1850 and the other party could still find Mikhail, then Mikhail would have to make amends no matter what.
Although Mikhail is currently mostly just making grand promises, Alexandre Dumas, ever since witnessing Mikhail writing, has exclaimed to many, "Mikhail's writing speed is almost twice as fast as mine!"

Furthermore, the newspaper owners believed that Mikhail also wanted to make money from the serialized novel, so after some consideration, they accepted Mikhail's promise. The corresponding price was that they had to provide some support for Mikhail's play in terms of public opinion.

Thus came the list of newspapers that Mikhail now reports to Etienne.

Just as Etienne memorized the list and was about to contact the people, Mikhail, as if remembering something, first sighed, then handed over a handwritten list, saying, "By the way, some gentlemen and ladies from high society are coming. Could you reserve a private room for them?"

These days, theater seating is also stratified. The wealthy and powerful go to their own boxes, the middle class buys slightly less desirable seats in the stalls or balcony, and students and ordinary citizens buy narrow penthouse seats.

Etienne, unfazed by such occurrences, nodded in agreement. However, when he took the list and carefully examined the names on it, his pupils dilated and contracted in shock, and he even rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had misread it.

Madame du Châtelet, wife of a minister, the famous widow Countess Claire, and Baron François
Undoubtedly, many of these people are prominent figures in Parisian high society. The most likely places for them to appear would be theaters like the Comédie-Française, which exude prestige and respectability, rather than theaters like the Théâtre de Montmartre, which are more geared towards the middle class.

At least Étienne has hardly ever hosted these important figures, so why would they choose the Montmartre Theatre this time? And why watch a play that might be considered somewhat disreputable?

Shocked and puzzled, Etienne looked at the list again carefully. Then, when he realized that the list was mostly made up of noblewomen, he suddenly understood. He then looked at Mikhail with admiration and gave him a smile that he thought all men would understand.

Mr. Mikhail must have put in a lot of effort to ensure the success of his performance.

And I must say, Mr. Mikhail is in really good health!
Mikhail, sensing Etienne's gaze, remained silent.

What are you thinking, you idiot?

To better promote the play, Mikhail has been attending many high-end salons recently, and has taken the opportunity to read excerpts from the play. Since the content of a play like "La Traviata" is more appealing to women, it is not surprising that there are many female viewers.

However, Mikhail must admit that although he was simply attending salons and promoting plays in a serious manner, there were indeed more and more people looking at him with a ulterior motive.
In fact, because Mikhail behaved so formally, some Parisian ladies had been speculating for some time that he might be experiencing some kind of health problem, or that his promiscuous lifestyle in Russia had led to his physical decline. But just as they were losing interest in Mikhail, a rumor began to circulate: "There is no man in all of Russia with higher standards than him! He rarely expresses affection for any woman; only the most beautiful women can move him."

The Parisian ladies: "?"

In short, this means Mikhail will indeed face more new troubles, but there are also advantages, at least for now, the list that Etienne is holding is quite long.
When Étienne came to his senses from looking at the list, he looked at Mikhail and said sincerely, "Mr. Mikhail, it seems that our Montmartre Theatre has truly been blessed by your brilliance this time. If you have any new plans in the future, please feel free to let us know, and our Montmartre Theatre will do its best to meet your requirements."

"Most definitely."

Mikhail smiled and nodded in response.

After chatting for a while, Etienne, who inexplicably felt more confident of winning, began to do things one by one as Mikhail had instructed.

As it turned out, Mikhail was not lying to him. When Etienne reported Mikhail's name to various newspapers, he was immediately transformed from an ordinary visitor into a guest of honor.

In this situation, Etienne achieved his goal with almost no effort.

So, within two days, news of the upcoming premiere of a new play quickly appeared in many Parisian newspapers in various forms:

A highly anticipated play will premiere in ten days! Tickets will be available from [date to be inserted].

The Most Beautiful Love, the Most Beautiful Drama

These news stories immediately brought back memories for many Parisians from the recent past:

"Is it that play with prostitutes as the main characters? It's finally going to premiere. I've been looking forward to it for a while now, but I don't know how it will be performed."

"I have to check it out just for Mr. Mikhail! You have no idea how captivating his 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' is. An author who can write such a work can't possibly produce a bad play! It's just that the number of daily updates is far too small!"

"Look at him, he has time to rehearse plays, why doesn't he spend more time writing a few more novels?"

"I still remember his poems about love, they were so beautifully written! I've memorized them all now, and I think his plays will be just as good."

At the same time, many people were naturally puzzled, but because there was so much news about the show in the newspapers, they couldn't avoid it at all. So after seeing it several times in a row, some people became really interested and prepared to see what the new show was like.

Of course, there are some familiar faces among them, such as the middle-aged tycoon Bernard, who recently gave up reading newspapers for a while. But as a true Parisian, he always feels something is missing if he doesn't read a newspaper every day.

So, after confirming that the newspapers in Paris had returned to normal, Bernard recently picked up his habit of reading newspapers again, but only a few days later...
Bernard, looking at the familiar news articles in the newspaper, was left speechless.

Come again? !
This time, however, Bernard, who had almost given up, actually picked up on these articles and started reading them.
Meanwhile, in a corner of a Parisian café, Lucas, who had recently lost weight but also become wealthier, saw these news reports. A smile finally appeared on his somewhat haggard face, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I definitely have to go."

But as he was laughing, Lucas suddenly felt pain in some parts of his body and quickly grimaced, clutching a spot, unable to calm down for a long time.

Perhaps this is the price of getting rich.
Besides the newspaper publicity, in the remaining time, Dumas was the first to fulfill his promise. Although he was too busy to read the script in its entirety, it did not stop him from praising it to everyone he met, talking about how great the script was and how great Mikhail was.

Given his status and social circle in Paris, his praise was naturally very effective.

Shortly after Alexandre Dumas began praising the play to everyone he met, Victor Hugo, with restraint, expressed his high regard for the play within his circle: "He is a very good young man, and we should certainly have higher expectations for his plays."

Even Chopin, who was not particularly sociable but did know many prominent figures in high society, mentioned the play to several people after a private performance, in a place unknown to Mikhail.

“He has given me a lot of inspiration, and with this young gentleman’s talent, I believe his plays will also be outstanding.”

All these seemingly insignificant events, as they gradually accumulate, seem to be causing a real stir in Paris. After all, Mikhail has a large readership from the lower and middle classes, and he is not entirely unknown in Parisian high society. Moreover, someone has lent him a helping hand.

As Paris began to shake, many people had already made plans to buy tickets.

Among these people, Louis Pasteur was just an ordinary student at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. If there was anything special about him, it was that he was more studious and more focused when doing research.

Actually, given his personality, he wasn't very interested in things like drama. He preferred to spend all day in the laboratory. However, because he really liked the scientific novels and articles written by Mr. Mikhail, he was willing to set aside an evening for them.

He thought, "Just treat it as a chance to relax once in a while."

In contrast, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire was a young man with syphilis and an avid theatergoer who frequented the major theaters of Paris, from the elegant Comédie-Française to the popular burlesque.

But this new play at the Montmartre Theatre is undoubtedly one of the theatrical works that has been of most interest to him lately.

Introducing prostitutes as protagonists into theatrical works—what a bold and novel approach!
And coincidentally, he is now increasingly fond of incorporating more elements into his poetry.
As all this unfolds, and time passes, the day Mikhail has set is fast approaching.
(End of this chapter)