I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 234 A Study in Scarlet: The Club and the Poetry Collection
Upon first seeing Mikhail, Dickens recognized him as the young man who had greeted him with "Merry Christmas" the day before Christmas. As the rumors suggested, the young man was quite handsome and possessed an unforgettable charm; Dickens remembered him after just one glance.

After recognizing him, Dickens was somewhat relieved that he had been too cautious that day; otherwise, the meeting would have been quite awkward.

As for whether Mikhail was a decent man or not, although Dickens had heard many rumors about Mikhail's dishonesty, after chatting for a while, Dickens couldn't help but nod slightly in his heart.

Judging from his experience, this young man's character was just like his age, possessing a unique honesty and vitality that belonged to young people. For a moment, Dickens was indeed reminded of his own youth.

Of course, he didn't have the outstanding looks of this young man, nor did he have that unique charisma. As for his love life in his youth, let's not even mention it.

Although Mikhail appears very young, his insight and thoughtful consideration of many things undoubtedly demonstrate the qualities of a genius.

And so, without realizing it, Dickens had talked to Mikhail about many things. And when they got to the end, seeing that Mikhail seemed to be planning to stay in England for a while, Dickens asked with some curiosity, "Do you have any business to attend to in England? Otherwise, if I may be so bold, London is not a suitable place to live, and the expenses are enormous."

Few people could feel this better than Dickens. It is worth mentioning that, due to his high daily expenses and the fact that Dickens was inherently a restless person, the oppressive and dull atmosphere of London often made him feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Dickens often spent a lot of time traveling to various European countries, which is also a lifestyle for many wealthy and leisurely people these days.

When faced with Dickens' question, Mikhail did not hide anything and answered directly: "I have already experienced how unlivable London is, but since I am going to serialize a novel in the British newspapers, I still have to stay here for a while."

Dickens: "?"

Serializing a novel?
Are you already planning to start writing a novel after only finishing two short stories?

"Do you create in English?"

Dickens couldn't help but press for an answer.

"of course."

Mikhail smiled and continued, "I've been in London for a while now, and during that time I've gradually discovered that a new type of story I've been conceiving seems to be perfectly suited to grow here, and now I'm going to bring that story to life."

To be precise, saying that he completed the story isn't entirely accurate. After all, according to Mikhail's previous plan, he would be serializing a series of Sherlock Holmes stories in England, and according to Mikhail's arrangement, he would probably publish "The Final Problem" from the Sherlock Holmes series around 1848 or 1849.

In this way, if he can survive or win the resurrection match, then Holmes will naturally be able to win the resurrection match as well.

If things hadn't gone so smoothly for him, then Holmes would really have had to say, "Holmes out!"
So, British readers, do you think I can win the revival match?

Just as Mikhail was making plans for his resurrection match, Dickens asked in surprise, "You said you not only want to write a novel in English, but you also want to conceive a new type of story?"
Is the new story genre you're referring to the 'science fiction' you mentioned earlier? Many British readers have already accepted and welcomed this type of novel.”

"It's not 'science fiction,' but a new type of story, inspired by a legendary French figure whose name should be familiar to many in the UK as well."

"Writing serialized novels in English: another new type of story."

Because the amount of information was so overwhelming, Dickens couldn't help but mutter to himself, seemingly still processing the astonishing news.

First of all, serializing a novel would certainly not be a difficult task for this young genius, but serializing it in a different language, English, is a completely different matter.

Secondly, the new story genre is even more surprising. It should be noted that Mikhail's so-called 'science fiction' has been accepted by more and more readers, which means that this story genre undoubtedly has enormous vitality and amazing potential. Many publishers have already noticed this and have begun to publish corresponding books.

And whenever there is a new book of this type, it is difficult to avoid the name Mikhail, and many publishers simply use Mikhail's concept of 'science fiction' in their promotion!
It's safe to say that as long as this type of novel continues to appear, Mikhail will not be easily forgotten, and his fame will undoubtedly grow with time. So, is 'science fiction' no longer enough for him? Is he going to create something new?
But creating new story genres isn't that easy!

While subconsciously questioning the information, Dickens gradually processed it, and then, unable to hide his shock, continued, "Your English is really good. I don't feel any obstacles when I talk to you, but can you really serialize a novel in England? That would be a huge challenge for your vocabulary and language skills."

"Just give it a try."

Mikhail didn't seem bothered by Dickens's criticism. He simply smiled and said, "I'm still learning, and the vibrant, varied, and rich language in your works has greatly inspired me."

Dickens: "."

Although Dickens initially chose to be skeptical, at this moment, seeing Mikhail's calm expression and composed demeanor, Dickens was momentarily tempted to believe him.
Never mind, it's none of my business for now.

Since Dickens is currently focusing his energy on a newly launched newspaper, he has not published any new works and has no intention of writing any at the moment. In other words, even if what Mikhail said is true, the writers who serialized novels at the same time as him would only be other British writers, and Dickens should not have much to do with it.

Thinking about this, Dickens, still somewhat incredulous, simply offered his blessings: "Then I hope your serialized novel in English will also achieve good results in England."

“I hope so too.” After that topic was over, Mikhail continued to listen attentively to Dickens’s speech, sometimes asking questions to discuss with him. When a long time had passed and he felt it was about time, Mikhail chose a suitable moment to get up and take his leave.

Since Dickens still had some work to do, Mikhail didn't want to bother the busy writer too much.

Although Dickens was somewhat reluctant to leave, after considering his current matters, he finally rose to bid farewell to Mikhail. Before Mikhail departed, Dickens, remembering something, spoke:
"You've just arrived in London, so you probably haven't joined any London clubs yet, right? Perhaps someone within a club could give you more accurate answers to some of your questions. How about I recommend you join a club?"

Regarding how the upper class in Britain interacted and communicated during this period, although Britain did not have a strong salon culture like Paris, it developed a unique club culture based on its own national foundation.

Simply put, it's about creating a private space for gentlemen, and for gentlemen only. To join the club, you need to pay a hefty membership fee and annual fee, and you also need the recommendation and consent of other club members.

Before the invention of the telegraph and telephone, British clubs were often the fastest place to get the latest political, business and social gossip, where members exchanged information, made deals and built networks.

Speaking of which, there are such clubs in St. Petersburg. In addition to exchanging information and building connections, Russian noblemen often gamble all night long.

This gambling trend and phenomenon is quite obvious and popular in Britain as well. These days, in order to collect materials, Mikhail naturally went to similar places, and what he observed really shocked him. The number of people and groups involved in gambling in Britain is indeed more than Mikhail had imagined.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fogg, the protagonist of "Around the World in Eighty Days," is a member of one of London's most famous clubs.

Mikhail wasn't particularly interested in the gambling games in these British clubs, but since he planned to build a small garment factory in Britain, he definitely needed to have some connections there.

Faced with Dickens's kind offer, Mikhail readily agreed. But before he left, Dickens, unable to contain his curiosity, asked:
"What's the name of your novel that's being serialized in the UK? Have you decided yet? I'm planning to find it and see what this new genre you mentioned is all about."

"The words of the first novel."

Mikhail offered his own answer: "A Study in Scarlet".

"It sounds a bit creepy."

After nodding thoughtfully, Dickens officially sent Mikhail away.

For Dickens, this was undoubtedly an impressive meeting. Most importantly, Mikhail's attitude toward him and his work made Dickens, who had recently been in a state of "I don't read bad reviews," feel much more relaxed.

See? Even for such a rare genius, the first writer he formally visited in England was me!

For Mikhail, this visit was also very beneficial. First, Dickens's way of speaking and many of his experiences sounded quite interesting. Second, with the help of his teacher Dickens, Mikhail naturally entered British social circles.

So in the following period, Mikhail dealt with some miscellaneous things needed to join the club, while also continuing his field research in London during this time, and constantly revising and supplementing "A Study in Scarlet" based on the current situation in London.

As Holmes's seminal work, "A Study in Scarlet" has many outstanding aspects, but it certainly also has many problems. Mikhail, while retaining the essence, naturally made some appropriate adjustments.

After much deliberation and adjustment, Mikhail finally finalized the final version of "A Study in Scarlet," and the next step was to find a suitable newspaper to begin serialization.

Given Mikhail's current fame, finding a magazine in England willing to serialize his novel wouldn't be difficult. However, finding one willing to serialize his English-language novel might be a bit of a hassle. Nevertheless, through the connections of the local publisher Eliot, Mikhail successfully got his novels into the hands of some London newspaper owners.

It's worth mentioning that, perhaps because the discussion about Mikhail's Christmas book in London newspapers hadn't stopped, coupled with the spontaneous promotion by many readers, the sales of "The Gift of the Magi" continued to rise, making publisher Eliot, who had thought he could only make a small profit, extremely happy.

Meanwhile, another matter was also beginning to take shape, just as Elliott had told Mikhail:

“The three authors of the poetry collection you mentioned to me before have written again. We are currently in the stage of discussing specific terms. Mr. Mikhail, I don’t know much about poetry. In your opinion, what do you think of this poetry collection? How many copies can it sell?”

Upon hearing these words, Mikhail immediately thought of the Brontë sisters, who now lived in Haworth, Yorkshire, England.

Even though they will surely leave their mark on the history of English literature in the future, only two copies of their poetry collections from this period were sold.

This is not to say that the quality of this collection of poems is bad. In fact, the collection mainly consists of poems by Emily Brontë, the author of Wuthering Heights, whose poetry is also quite good. It's just a pity that her poetic reputation was not finally established until the mid-20th century, and she is even more neglected in this day and age.

Although Mikhail only wanted to lend a helping hand to these three women whose lives had been filled with hardship, after considering their current predicament and other circumstances, he decided to speak up:

"The poetry collection is quite good, but I doubt it will sell many copies. Could you please provide your mailing address? I'm planning to write a review for their collection and would like to ask for their feedback first to see if they'd be willing."

(End of this chapter)