I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 230 The Attention of the London Citizens and Mikhail's Announcement of His Arrival

The only thing the bourgeoisie considers for the workers is the law. When the workers push the bourgeoisie forward, the bourgeoisie uses the law to restrain them, just like dealing with irrational animals. The bourgeoisie has only one means of educating the workers, and that is the whip, a cruel and intimidating violence that cannot subdue people but can only intimidate them.

For the bourgeois, the law is of course sacred, because it is the bourgeois's own creation, enacted with his consent and to protect him and his interests.

The workers have enough experience and know very well that the law is a whip prepared for them by the capitalists, so they will not resort to the law unless absolutely necessary.

—The Condition of the Working Class in England

In the mid-19th century, many British newspapers, like their neighbor France, often had their own audiences and inclinations.

The most influential newspaper among them is undoubtedly The Times, which has a conservative political stance and a readership that is mostly composed of politicians, business people and intellectuals. It has a rather dignified style and often includes international reports and parliamentary news.

Following closely behind was the reform-minded *Morning Post*, which criticized the government and advocated liberalism; Dickens had once worked there. Next came the conservative *Morning Post*, *Morning Bulletin*, and *The Standard*, which opposed liberal reforms.
Newspapers aimed at the general public, such as Lloyd's Weekly and Weekly Express, focused on crime news and social stories.

Normally, when an author like Mikhail, who has made a great name for himself in Paris and whose works are also bestsellers in the UK, comes to Paris, almost every newspaper will report on his visit, with only the length and number of pages varying.

However, since Mikhail did not make a fuss after arriving in England, nor did he visit any cultural figures, but instead went straight into the streets of London as an ordinary person, and also wanted to take this opportunity to promote his Christmas books, the news of Mikhail's arrival in London was temporarily kept secret.

But this did not prevent Mikhail from appearing in some London newspapers in another form:
"Urban Oddities"

A mysterious figure roams London, engaging in bizarre behavior and making outlandish speculations.

Recently, a mysterious figure with peculiar behavior has appeared on the streets of London, causing a stir in some neighborhoods due to his strange attire and bizarre actions. This person wears distinctive and conspicuous clothing, a deerstalker hat, and has an extremely striking appearance. He carries a magnifying glass and a notebook, and occasionally pulls out a long-handled pipe.

Compared to the formal attire of a normal gentleman, he seemed more like a fictional character from a stage play.

Witnesses say the mysterious figure often wanders the streets of London in the early morning. His most striking behavior is that he suddenly appears in front of beggars, workers, small vendors and ordinary citizens, and after obtaining permission, he begins to tell them about their past experiences and some of their stories. If they answer his questions, whether they admit it or deny it, he will give them a few pennies as a reward.

Some might think he's a philanthropist with eccentricities because of this behavior, but many people who have been asked questions by him are surprised to find that what he said about their past and what they had just experienced was actually true!

In addition, he would ask questions about the weather, London anecdotes, and carriage travel, and would receive a few pence as a reward for answering his questions.

It is said that he has also helped people solve many problems free of charge, such as finding lost items and retrieving lost children.
What's even more peculiar is that he seems to be able to see other people's memories and inner thoughts, and can say things that others can't recall in just a few words.
It is rumored that he also possesses some kind of mysterious power, and those who encounter him may experience even more extraordinary events in the coming period of time.

Mikhail, upon seeing reports like this: "."

It's not that mysterious.
Perhaps to grab attention, these news reports in the newspapers certainly exaggerated and distorted some things.

Of course, many things in the newspapers were indeed true. After all, Mikhail had been immersed in role-playing and researching recently, and out of a desire to help others, he gave them some compensation.

As for the specific cases in the newspapers, some rely purely on simple observation and memory, while others are rather vague and general. After all, hundreds of millions of people can find themselves among the twelve constellations, so wouldn't it be easy to make things more general and make others feel that it makes sense?
Moreover, some people's personality is truly reflected in their face and actions.

Then there are some simple psychological techniques from later generations, which seem useless, yet somehow useful.

In conclusion, Mikhail's experiences of going out to gather material and carefully observing the people and things he encountered were sometimes applied to his novels, while others were simply experiences and a way of life.

However, as these reports appeared in the newspapers, and given that Mikhail's attire was indeed unique in London at the time, as time went on, more and more Londoners actually started to talk to Mikhail.

Some were after the few pennies in Mikhail's pocket, while others were driven by a defiant desire to expose the absurd reports in the newspapers. Just then, a well-dressed young man suddenly walked up to Mikhail and looked at him with a mixture of surprise and provocation.

Although he felt that Mikhail's attire was quite different from that of a respectable gentleman and rather undignified, at the same time, he inexplicably thought that the clothes were quite nice and that they gave the strange man an indescribable air of elegance.

Out of a subtle jealousy, he couldn't help but say:
"Are you the eccentric person mentioned in the newspapers? I've heard you have some strange hobbies. Now that we've met, why don't you guess who I am?"

At this point, the young man subconsciously puffed out his chest.

But the strange man only looked him up and down twice before speaking with certainty: "Perhaps you are a poor student?"

you fart!
The seemingly well-dressed young man's face flushed red, but before he could retort, he heard the strange man say again, "Perhaps your place is also very cramped, maybe even an attic? And you were just with a lady, and quite intimately at that."

How could you insult someone like that?!

After saying this with great excitement, the young man didn't even want Mikhail's few pennies. Instead, he turned around and left, leaving Mikhail without even having a chance to voice his speculation.

As someone who was once penniless, Mikhail could tell at a glance whether the person in front of him was penniless or not!

If I had to give some reasons, firstly, this young man looked malnourished, his complexion was almost the same color as Mikhail's before; secondly, there was the familiar musty smell emanating from him, and his long hair sticking to his clothes.
Of course, if you really want to find loopholes in this so-called evidence, there will definitely be some. It's hard to say that there is perfect logical reasoning in the world. Moreover, reality is often much more absurd than so-called logic. Therefore, Mikhail usually only speaks of what he is most confident about.

If you guess right, great; if you encounter some special circumstances, then forget it.

But such tricks and Mikhail's astonishing memory seemed uncommon these days. So, as time went on, Mikhail suddenly noticed that newspaper headlines had become much more sensational: "With just one glance, a mysterious man can see your past and future!" Mikhail: "?"

Can I see what my future holds?
Even setting aside news like this, in real life, when Mikhail emerges from the London fog as usual, it seems that more and more people are paying attention to him and actively seeking him out.

Some people have even started asking some strange questions: "Do you think I will become a rich person?"

"Can you tell where my ancestors came from?"

"Are there any hidden treasures in Britain?"

Mikhail: “???”

What do I know?!
I was just out gathering information, but now it feels like I'm heading in the direction of a charlatan!
Now that things had come to this, Mikhail felt it was about time to stop.

Or rather, the next time he'll be walking the streets of London in this outfit will probably be when the Sherlock Holmes stories start serialization. I wonder what that will be like.

Surely no one actually wants me to solve a case? Probably not.
If this news gets back to France and Russia, and someone insists I perform something, what am I supposed to do?

Mikhail, who only wanted to write a novel and incidentally build a factory to sell clothes, suddenly began to worry.
But in any case, as time goes by, it's time for Mikhail to turn his attention to his Christmas books.

So today, Mikhail, unusually dressed in London's fashionable clothes, went to his publisher, Eliot, to discuss the next steps.

For some reason, nowadays, publisher Elliott sometimes looks at Mikhail as if he's a ghost, but today, Mikhail has a rare normal appearance, and publisher Elliott, with a hint of reluctance, takes the initiative to ask:
"Mr. Mikhail, why aren't you wearing your old clothes anymore? Only God knows how charming you were when you were reasoning in those clothes!"

Mikhail: “?”

It's a bit gay, don't scare me.
After Mikhail's brief introduction, publisher Elliott now understood some things, but that still didn't stop him from sometimes looking at Mikhail with a look of utter disbelief.

"Let's leave that aside for now and talk about the upcoming publicity work."

Mikhail, feeling a chill run down his spine, waved his hand and then asked, "Is placing some ads in the newspaper enough? Do you have enough money? Which newspapers can these ads appear in? Is there anything else we can do?"

Having been diligently building his business all along, Mikhail subconsciously started planning things as soon as he arrived in this new place.

But publisher Elliott was somewhat surprised by Mikhail's questions and said, "Mr. Mikhail, there's no need to complicate things so much. In fact, as long as you announce your arrival in London, almost every newspaper in London will report on your news and your new book."

You are Mikhail! The Russian who crushed the Parisian literary scene! Just recently, some London newspapers even called you the literary Tsar Alexander I! But even the Tsar needed his army, while you only need yourself to make those culturally superior Frenchmen bow down!

Mikhail: “?”

You're really making a big fuss, but I feel like you're just using my situation to mock the French.
"As for your works, needless to say, they used to appear frequently in newspapers and sold very well. For a time, pirated copies of your novels were everywhere in London."

Mikhail: "??"

despicable Englishmen
"In short, your name is the best advertisement."

Realizing he had said too much, Eliot quickly added, "No one will ignore your work, even if this is your first time writing in English."

"That's it."

Upon hearing this, Mikhail finally nodded.

After struggling for so long, I can finally relax and enjoy myself.
And just as publisher Elliott had predicted, once news of Mikhail's arrival in London spread, it was quickly published in newspapers large and small throughout London.

The Times, in its solemn and serious manner, only devoted a limited space to mentioning the matter. Other London newspapers, however, were clearly less meticulous, with some even adding extra content to grab attention.
"The Russian writer who caused a sensation in Paris has arrived in England! He once said that England was the country he longed for most, and that he thought London was much better than Paris!"

"The author of 'Around the World in Eighty Days' came to London and said that London is the most beautiful city in all of Europe!"

"After easily astonishing Paris with their French works, Russian writers are now humbly and cautiously beginning to create in English."

Mikhail: “???”

I never said I wasn't humble.
And what do I yearn for?
I long to be a proud Irishman in your Britain.

Furthermore, if we have to compare the worst places, Mikhail can only say that France is indeed a more livable place than Britain these days.

In short, after reading some of the newspaper reports, even though Mikhail wasn't British, he couldn't help but want to puff out his chest.
While Mikhail was engrossed in reading the British newspapers, Christmas was fast approaching.
(End of this chapter)