I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 235 He's Different and the Not-So-Wonderful Night

Only I in this world...

I alone in this world live according to fate.
No one cared, and no one mourned him after his death;
Since I was born, no one has given birth to me.
A touch of sorrow, yet a hint of a smile.

In the private joy and hardship,

Life's many changes quietly slipped away.

Eighteen years old feels just like when I was born.
He was lonely and melancholy, having no close friends.

……

There were times when it was impossible to hide them.

There was a time when I was depressed and gloomy.
A sorrowful soul forgets its self-respect.

I long for someone to love me.

But that was just a momentary impulse.

Long ago, worry and depression replaced it;

They disappeared without a trace long ago.

I even doubt that they ever existed.

……

The dreams of youth are shattered first.
The imagined rainbow then vanished;
Experience has also given me earnest advice.

The concept of "truth" has never taken root in people's hearts.

How heartbreaking it is to think of the people of this world.
They were all hypocritical, servile, and deceitful.
Even more heartbreaking is the heart that only trusted itself.

But they found that corruption was just as rampant there.

—Emily Brontë

The most striking sight in Haworth, Yorkshire, England, is undoubtedly the vast moorland stretching to the horizon, with towering mountains rising one after another, reaching all the way to the sky.

This wasteland is exceptionally desolate, with almost no arable land. The mountains are quite steep, and their colors change endlessly with the seasons. Such a wasteland is both bleak and terrifying to most people, but it holds a great attraction for those who love solitude and desolate, boundless scenery.

It was in a house next to this vast wilderness that Reverend Brontë and his children lived together for many years. Reverend Brontë was a conscientious clergyman, but God did not bless his family. His wife died young, and his two eldest daughters died young. Now he had only three daughters and one son.

Charlotte Brontë, the eldest daughter, is the most mature child in the family. Her sense of responsibility towards the family and her expectations for the future have forced her to mature. In order to support the family and take care of her siblings, she is now trying to find ways to make the family more financially secure.

The second daughter, Emily Brontë, appears introverted and shy, but deep down she is a stubborn and combative person with her own opinions and insistence on many things. Because she feels uncomfortable and even starts to get sick when she leaves home, she can only stay at home and handle various trivial matters in daily family life.

The youngest daughter, Anne Brontë, was a quiet, introverted, and gentle person, but she also possessed a strong will. To alleviate the family's financial difficulties and help her brother Branwell, she disregarded her frail health and went out alone to work as a governess, experiencing the hardships and desolation of the job.

As for Branville, he was once seen as the hope of his family, who believed he could become an outstanding painter. However, when he ambitiously went to study art at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the works of other students at the school immediately disheartened him.

Even if he were a piece of gold, the whole of London was dazzling with gold, and what was even more regrettable was that he wasn't even gold. Under this blow, he started drinking heavily, and a few days ago he even started smoking opium because of relationship problems.

They undoubtedly share a common trait: a love for literature and creation. Even when they were very young, they had already started writing all sorts of stories, and even created two fictional kingdoms. Charlotte and Branwell created the Kingdom of Anglia, while Emily and Anne created the neighboring Kingdom of Gondar.

They created all sorts of characters, grudges and feuds, wars, alliances, loans and other events for this kingdom, and even imagined themselves as characters in these stories, writing many poems and narrative fragments.

This was undoubtedly the beginning of their entry into the history of British literature.

Recently, a major literary event has occurred in this family: their poetry collection has the opportunity to be published, and they are currently in discussions with the publisher regarding the specific terms and other follow-up matters.

This step didn't go as smoothly as they had expected. After all, poetry wasn't selling very well in Britain these days. Even great poets might not have many people remembering their poems, let alone unknowns like them.

Just as Charlotte was feeling somewhat anxious, two letters that arrived one after the other left her completely disoriented.

The first letter came from a stranger, a gentleman who described himself as a mediocre critic. He said he had come across their work by chance and was deeply moved, so he wanted to write a review of their poetry collection, which he would then publish in the newspaper after the collection was released. He also sent some of his own reviews with the letter.

At the same time, he also suggested that they should focus their energy on novel writing, because novels sell much better than poems in today's literary market.

While a mediocre critic might not be of much help in selling their poetry collection, Charlotte was still delighted by the letter, as it truly demonstrated that their poetry could resonate with readers.

Charlotte, after careful consideration, wholeheartedly agreed with the gentleman's suggestion to write more novels. After completing this collection of poems, she and her sisters were indeed determined to dedicate themselves to novel writing.

In addition to these, since the gentleman's comments focused more on his sister Emily's poetry, Charlotte took the initiative to give the comments to her sister first.

Of the three, Emily was probably the most resistant to publishing her poetry. She wrote mostly for herself, not for publication, so Charlotte had to go to great lengths to persuade her to publish a book with her. Based on Charlotte's understanding of her somewhat reclusive sister, she probably wanted to see what others thought of her poetry, even though she likely wouldn't agree with those opinions.

While Emily was reading these comments, Charlotte received another letter from her publisher, Elliott. She initially thought the publisher wanted to discuss something with her again, but after reading the letter, Charlotte was practically dumbfounded.

You mean, a young man from a commoner background in Russia, who first conquered the Russian literary world with his talent, and then used his talent and works to make the French literary world pale in comparison in Paris?
Now that he has finally arrived in England, he first published a very popular Christmas book, and then immediately took a liking to the poetry collection of the three of us unknowns, and even wanted to write a review of our poetry collection himself.
Regarding the effect of his reviews, publisher Eliot wrote in his letter: "It's simply God's blessing on you! As far as I know, Mr. Mikhail is a very brilliant critic, but his talent in this area is far overshadowed by the brilliance of his writing."

Even if he lacks this talent, then with all due respect, his comments are more effective than those of a hundred critics in London. Perhaps the cultural circles of Paris will even take notice of your poetry because of his comments!
You must seize this opportunity.

Charlotte: "???"

Is he telling us a story?
And why does he have fantasies that are even wilder than those of us women?
Charlotte thought the romantic stories she had read and the stories she had conceived were already incredible enough, but now she was experiencing something even more incredible through a publisher.
Perhaps this Mr. Eliot should have been a writer rather than a publisher?

Just as Charlotte was wondering if some of her previous fantasies were too conservative, her seemingly aloof and cold sister Emily had already hurriedly walked towards her.

Although she appeared relatively calm, her hurried steps seemed to say something, and when Emily reached Charlotte, she seemed to hesitate for a long time before finally making up her mind:

"Did this commenter leave his address? I have a few points I'd like to respond to regarding his comments."

Charlotte: "?"

"Really, Emily?"

A startled Charlotte couldn't help but ask, "Are you really going to write a letter to this gentleman?"

It's no exaggeration to say that her sister Emily's social circle consisted only of her siblings and the endless wilderness. She had almost no friends and didn't want to interact with anyone. So why would she take such action today?

"Ah."

Emily noticed her sister's shock, hesitated for a moment, and finally explained, "He's different."

Charlotte: "???"

His commentary was very well written.

Hearing these words, Charlotte finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Even so, Charlotte still found some things too unbelievable, to the point that she was momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Just as Charlotte was at a loss, Mikhail, who was back in London as a street urchin, also happened to think of this matter.

First of all, there shouldn't be any major problems with his comments. After all, as a former literary youth, he must have read Emily Brontë's poems and related commentaries, and he did like them quite a bit.

Although Emily's poetry is often overlooked, a century later in Britain, the Longman Guide to English Literature, when introducing Emily, stated outright that she is "considered the greatest female poet in English literature."

Virginia Woolf, another renowned writer in the history of British literature, also said: "She (Emily) looked at the world and saw it falling apart and in chaos. She did this in her poetry, and perhaps her poetry will outlive her novels... Her talent is the rarest of all talents."

Since Mikhail has seen these things, his comments must be spot on.

Furthermore, Mikhail's assistance to these three renowned female writers in the history of British literature was not only to express his respect for their works, but also because he had some longer-term plans.

Simply put, it's about starting a literary magazine in the UK.

The timing isn't right to start now. It's too difficult for an outsider like him to start a newspaper, not to mention he'll have to face some more troublesome things in the future. But once everything settles down, Mikhail will really give it a try.

If the Brontë sisters also escaped their early deaths due to improved conditions, then Mikhail could indeed commission a piece of writing from them.

Let's leave it for now. Mikhail himself is in the stage of building his reputation, and many things he wants to do will have to wait for time to ferment before they can be done little by little.

As Mikhail, as always, walked through the streets and alleys of London with his magnifying glass and other equipment, as night deepened, in a house in London, old Charles was sitting at his desk, casually looking at a manuscript.

If you were to ask what he does, in short, many publishers and newspaper owners in London sometimes, in order to determine whether a work will be a bestseller, will not only make their own judgments but also seek the help of experts in the British cultural world to evaluate a work in order to ensure that there are no major oversights.

Old Charles was such an expert, and the manuscript he held, titled "A Study in Scarlet," was quite remarkable in some respects. It was about the Russian writer who had recently been the subject of much discussion in the British literary world, now producing a serialized novel written in English.

When the news spread, half of Britain's cultural circles were filled with astonishment and uncertainty, speculating whether this was yet another bold attempt or whether the seemingly unbelievable Russian writer truly possessed such confidence.

If he were to succeed by sheer luck again, wouldn't the British literary world be ridiculed by the French literary world?
For this reason, plus some deeper reasons, in short, the current public opinion is not favorable to the Russian writer, and something else may happen next, but all of these things are irrelevant to old Charles at the moment, because he is currently preoccupied with the wonderful night that is about to begin.

However, there are always gaps before the night can truly begin. Old Charles's wife is busy with some housework and may have to put the children to sleep next. Restless, Old Charles can only watch something that is most likely to distract him and pass the time.

The problem was that old Charles had only intended to calm down a bit, but as he watched, his initially casual gaze gradually became serious, and he grew increasingly calm, to the point that his perception of his surroundings weakened.
When old Charles's wife finally arrived and gently stroked his face with her soft hand, he grabbed her hand and quickly saw her out. After saying, "Go to sleep, I have something to do," he closed the study door again.

Old Charles's wife: ?

(End of this chapter)