I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 232 Britain welcomes well-intentioned suggestions but rejects unfounded accusations.
Regarding the sales of Mikhail's Christmas book "The Gift of the Magi" before Christmas, publisher Elliott said with slight regret:
"I think your work is very good, but it's a pity you chose Christmas. On this day, Mr. Dickens is almost unbeatable. His Christmas book 'The Church Bells' sold well last year, and this year's 'The Cricket by the Fireside' sold twice as much!"
This certainly affected your book sales to some extent, but they've been quite good; several thousand copies have already been sold, Mr. Mikhail. This is a huge success for someone like you who is writing in English for the first time!

Mikhail simply laughed off such results, as some things might need to be developed further over time.

Furthermore, although Dickens' Christmas books this year sold better than his previous two Christmas books, "The Cricket by the Fireside" has failed to gain critical acclaim. Those who have been looking for evidence of Dickens' declining influence have launched a fierce attack on the book, criticizing it as "hypocritical".

The Times went so far as to call it "the ramblings of a prematurely aged genius."

This was partly related to Dickens's impending launch of a newspaper that would compete with them.

But then again, will Mikhail's Christmas books be accepted by British critics?

These comments appeared in the newspapers just as the British were celebrating Christmas in high spirits.

In the morning, people rush to church to worship, sing Christmas carols, and give thanks for God's blessings. Afterward, people may have to deal with many trivial matters in their lives as usual. However, as time goes by, the joyful atmosphere of Christmas gradually reaches its climax.

After London families have finished their most sumptuous dinner of the year, they enjoy this precious moment by the glow of candlelight. A choir may come to sing, followed by indoor games like hide-and-seek.

Meanwhile, sitting around the fireplace telling ghost stories, legends, and other tales is a common form of entertainment on winter nights, and as the night deepens, this activity often marks the end of a lively day.

The children, tired from listening, would stagger and fall asleep as soon as they reached a familiar place. Some, however, would become more and more energetic as they listened, insisting on hearing the whole story before they would stop. Then, with some indescribable feelings, they would wander into their thoughts in the dark. Only after a long time could they finally drift off to sleep on this rare night.

At this very moment, this scene is playing out in many homes in London.

Among them, Lazarus is a conservative old London gentleman with his own set of views on life. He has many firm and unshakeable beliefs, such as that England must have a king, that revolution is a plague, that England is the greatest country in the world, and that English literature must be the best.
At the same time, he harbored a deep prejudice against the French. It is said that once, during a rare trip to Paris, a Parisian, upon learning he was British, immediately joked with him:

"Hey! Dude! Have you ever heard of Shakespeare? He was a true-blue Frenchman!"

Then the old gentleman Lazarus struck the other man hard on the head with his cane.
But his son happens to be someone who is very interested in French culture, and even said that the Christmas books he buys must be by a Frenchman!

Oh no, he wasn't even a pure Frenchman; he was a Russian who became famous in France! This is utterly doubly barbaric and despicable!
And now, this two-faced man is even going so far as to tarnish British literature!
I think he actually wanted the British to find grammatical problems in his work!

Of course, this old gentleman didn't particularly like Dickens' Christmas books either, because Dickens' previous Christmas book, "The Church Bells," was an unacceptable gift for those who firmly upheld the status quo, as Dickens made no secret of his disgust for his country's political system and his loathing for social customs.

The old gentleman Lazarus once commented sharply on this: "Perhaps he has been out too much and has been blinded by many things! Of course, it is more likely that he received an annuity from the French government! Otherwise, he would never have written such a book."

In some ways, the old gentleman Lazarus hated British writers like Dickens even more.

That's why, when his son repeatedly assured him, "The Gift of the Magi is a heartwarming and delightful story, with absolutely no unpleasant elements; such a story should be read to children," he was deeply moved.

In addition, the old gentleman Lazarus really wanted to hear some new Christmas stories, so he finally decided to reluctantly give the two-faced writer a chance.

So his son quickly began reading it to the whole family:

"One pound and seven shillings. That's all there is, and two of those shillings were made up of small copper coins. I saved up little by little by haggling at the grocer, the butcher, and the vegetable vendor."

After hearing this short story, many of the women in the family shed tears of joy, and even the old gentleman Lazarus couldn't help but nod and say, "While one shouldn't be so polite to one's wife, such devotion is indeed admirable. It seems that even Russians can be inspired by God."

After saying this, Lazarus suddenly asked, "But why is this story so short? Your book isn't that thin either, is it? Why don't you finish reading the rest?"

"Dad, the following story has some bias against Britain."

"How could that be? I can guess what kind of person that Russian writer was just from the story you just read!"

The old gentleman Lazarus said with considerable confidence, "He must be a devout Christian, but only in England, in English, could he have written such a wonderful story. It would be absolutely impossible in any other country. Anyway, keep reading, I want to hear how it goes."

Although Lazarus' son laughed hysterically while reading the latter part of the story, he certainly didn't want to read it to his father. However, his father held considerable authority in the family, so under Lazarus' insistence, he ultimately had to read the following story:
"Soapy slept very restlessly under the arch of Waterloo Bridge."

As the story reached its middle, many members of their family couldn't help but laugh. Although the story might not be entirely respectable, some parts were undeniably absurd and hilarious. But old gentleman Lazarus felt increasingly uneasy.
However, because the story above had left a very good impression on him, he eventually listened patiently to the end.

Then, after listening to the whole story, the old gentleman Lazarus was left with a question: "???"

What is his story about?!

While the rest of the family was still reeling from the ironic ending, the trembling old gentleman Lazarus exclaimed excitedly, "Despicable Russian! He must have been receiving pensions from both the Russian and French governments to write such wicked things!"

While the old gentleman Lazarus was breathing heavily with anger, many others were also reciting the story of "The Gift of the Magi," among whom the Osiris family had always been devoted readers of Dickens.

Although their family was relatively well-off, out of a certain irrepressible sympathy, they did not find Dickens's works too offensive; on the contrary, they showed more people another side of life.

Because they were devoted readers of Dickens, the family finished reading Dickens's *The Cricket by the Fireside* early on Christmas Day. Feeling unsatisfied after finishing it, Osiris remembered another book he had bought out of curiosity:

"How about we read 'The Gift of the Magi' again? I really liked this author's previous book, 'Around the World in Eighty Days,' but I never expected him to write a new book in English. Let's try to find his grammatical errors together!"

After making such a little joke, Osiris, who was somewhat expectant but not too hopeful, quickly read the stories from the book to his family members.

At first, everyone was listening and laughing, but as they listened, the atmosphere quickly quieted down. Only when they heard the end of the last story did they exclaim in surprise:

"Is this how it ends? Can Soapy ever become a good person again?"

"I feel like he'll die right there in prison! But is the workhouse really that bad? Even at the end, he was still thinking about not going."

"His ending was so unexpected! I never imagined it would end like this!"

As the Osiris family was enthusiastically discussing the two stories, a simple question suddenly silenced everyone present:
"So, do you think Mr. Mikhail's book is better, or Mr. Dickens's book?"

This should have been a simple and straightforward question, but for some reason, it caused a long silence among those present. After a long while, someone finally spoke up: "Of course it's Mr. Dickens! But this gentleman from Russia also writes very well."
Was this really his first time writing in English? I find his vocabulary so rich, and his expression so incredibly interesting—he manages to combine English words in such unexpected ways, producing such a clever effect!

"I also think Mr. Dickens's is better! But both stories are very good."

After a lively discussion, although the Osiris family unanimously agreed that Dickens' Christmas books were better, for some reason, the book they continued to discuss next was "The Gift of the Magi."
Meanwhile, in another family in London, Dickens was hesitating whether to read the story of "The Gift of the Magi" to his family.

Although he also thought both stories were good, Dickens did have a strange worry about one thing: what if his family thought the two stories were better than his?
The main reason for this concern is that Dickens did not write "The Cricket by the Fireside" smoothly; in fact, it was quite bumpy, unlike his previous works "A Christmas Carol" and "The Church Bells," which were written in one go. As a result, he was not very confident about "The Cricket by the Fireside."

Even so, it was a bit too far-fetched for a famous British writer like him to worry about an English work by a foreign author, especially since the sales of "The Cricket by the Fireside" far exceeded his expectations.

But to be honest, as a writer, Dickens could certainly see the level of Mikhail's English novels. In fact, in the realm of short stories alone, Dickens couldn't immediately think of many contemporary British writers whose short stories could rival Mikhail's.
Having just arrived in the UK and already written such a work, what do you intend to do for the British literary scene?
Dickens was now very eager to have a conversation with that young Russian man.
However, before doing so, Dickens thought about it for a while, and finally, he read the stories from this book to his family.
And so, Christmas in Britain in 1845, as usual, came to an end amidst stories and much more joy.

As a new day begins, London comes alive again, the hustle and bustle once more filling the vast, crowded city, and even the British literary scene is once again dominated by noise.

Or rather, the period after Christmas is precisely the noisiest time in the British literary world. After all, Dickens's much-anticipated Christmas book is bound to spark a great deal of discussion and controversy, and British critics will certainly express their opinions on The Cricket by the Fireside.

Although Dickens didn't want to pay too much attention to this, it's almost impossible for a writer to be indifferent to others' opinions of his work. So, early the next morning, Dickens started looking at the London newspapers, and the first one to appear before him was, of course, the most famous British newspaper, The Times.

As Dickens eagerly flipped through the newspaper, Mikhail's hand was also on The Times, where he quickly saw, in a prominent position, a critic's critique of his Christmas book:
"What I want to say to this Russian writer is this: your work is full of prejudice against Britain and an arrogance that comes from nowhere. Do you understand Britain? I want to tell you that the people who understand the situation in Britain best are not you, but the British themselves. You have no right to speak, but the British do."

Therefore, please refrain from writing irresponsible works like "The Cop and the Anthem." Britain welcomes well-intentioned suggestions but rejects baseless accusations.

Mikhail: “?”

Does anyone know that they've been represented by someone else again?
(End of this chapter)