I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 236 Mikhail and Darwin Enter the Forbidden Zone of God
"Old Charles said that Russian's writing is superb? The only bad thing is that the novel caused trouble in his family? How does a novel have to do with his family? Is he getting senile?!"

On an ordinary morning, after reading the expert advice given by old Charles, Jasper, the owner of a London literary magazine, couldn't help but say to his partner:

"A novel subject matter, captivating characters, and a thrilling plot—could it be that he received rubles from that Russian? Otherwise, why would he give it such high praise? I knew that profit-driven Russian was bound to make some moves after coming to England."

While complaining, Jasper completely ignored old Charles's opinion and then looked at the opinions of the other two well-known writers.

It's clear that Jasper's attitude towards Mikhail wasn't very friendly. This was because Jasper had sincerely tried to secure the British distribution rights for Mikhail's "Around the World in Eighty Days," offering a reasonably good price. However, Mikhail, adhering to the principle of the highest bidder, ultimately transferred the distribution rights to another publisher.

Who on earth gave that Russian such an outrageous price?!

When Jasper heard the news, he simply smiled indifferently and joked with many people around him, "A commoner, a Russian commoner at that, I don't think his work can cause much of a stir in Britain. At most, it's just a business that can make a little profit. If his work can sell very well in Britain, I'll drink a whole barrel of Thames water!"

Jasper was just trying to save face and brag a little. He genuinely didn't believe the novel would become a hit in London due to his prejudice against it based on nationality and identity. Unfortunately, *Around the World in Eighty Days* sold extremely well, generating profits that even made the magazine owner envious. But more importantly, there was that joke he'd made to many people...
For the sake of his own life, Jasper naturally didn't drink it. At most, he would declare that he had kept his promise in private. But the price was that his competitors and enemies would make fun of him about this for quite some time: "Look who's here? Mr. Jasper, what do you think is in the Thames River besides water?"

Jasper: "."

He couldn't refute such a statement at all, since breaking a promise was a serious accusation against a gentleman.

And so Jasper endured a period of hardship, and out of hatred for Mikhail, he genuinely wanted to make him fall down to prove his judgment.

Unfortunately, that never happened, and that damned Russian continued to have a smooth journey!
Fortunately, he has actually come to my Jasper territory!

When faced with a work written in English by a foreign author, Jasper naturally wanted to lower the price, especially since that Russian was asking for an exorbitant price! Not only did he dare to demand a high price as soon as he arrived in England, but he also demanded a share of the sales revenue from subsequent separate releases!
Only a handful of great writers in Britain have enjoyed such treatment.

If Mikhail's latest serialized work were still science fiction, Jasper would really have to reconsider. But since it's a change of subject matter and in English, Jasper felt that at least the Russian writer should offer him a toast and say something nice.

In this situation, Jasper was naturally unhappy to see old Charles's strong endorsement, but after he saw someone else's opinion, his brow immediately relaxed.

The writer was completely pessimistic about the Russian's new novel's innovation, believing that such a novel had no place in England, with its plot being bizarre and absurd.
When Jasper saw that the other two authors also thought the novel was rather mediocre, he immediately felt much better. Look, this is a truly objective evaluation! It's obvious they haven't accepted any Russian rubles.

Just as Jasper was about to discuss with his partner how to negotiate a lower price, his partner was staring intently at a news article in the newspaper. Jasper had to call him several times before he finally snapped out of his reverie, shook his head, and handed him the newspaper, saying:
"Today's newspaper happens to have a report on his other serialized novel, 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.' Just because of a few lines in the novel, these reporters can write such a long article criticizing it. It seems that not everyone welcomes his arrival."

"Does a few sentences in a novel warrant such a long article of criticism?"

Although he didn't have a good impression of Mikhail, even Jasper was somewhat surprised upon hearing the news, saying, "Isn't this a bit too exaggerated? This kind of news only makes people feel alarmed and doesn't really have any effect, does it?"

Jasper was initially somewhat puzzled, but when he saw what those few sentences in Mikhail's novel said, his doubts vanished instantly, replaced by a shock that left him speechless.

After a long pause to react, Jasper finally exclaimed, "What the hell is that damn Russian writing in his novel?! He actually has one of his characters say that animals might have evolved into what they are now. What does that mean?! Is he suggesting that animals weren't created by God, but rather that they gradually evolved into their current form for some other reason?!"

Upon seeing this, Jasper shook his head repeatedly, saying, "This is utter heresy! It's unthinkable even in a novel! According to him, did humans evolve from beasts into what we are now? That's blasphemy! A few decades or a century earlier, the parish officials would have arrested him if they saw this!"

After Jasper gradually recovered from his shock, practical considerations returned to his mind. After thinking about a few things, Jasper said to his partner with a hint of excitement:

"It's indeed a bit unreasonable to criticize just a few sentences from the novel. I guess someone has been watching this novel for a while! People have mentioned before that the descriptions of surgery in his novel are unreasonable and do not conform to current medical concepts. But who would have thought that he would go even further and write such absurd arguments!"
Just you wait and see, this matter is definitely not going to end so easily. I reckon all the newspapers will be reporting on it again, and some religious figures will certainly be cursing him vehemently! Under these circumstances, how dare he still demand such high prices and treatment from us? Let's forget about his demands and just state ours!

"Are you sure?"

Upon hearing this, Jasper's partner hesitated and said, "I think his novel does have the potential to be popular with the public. Wouldn't doing this mean we miss out on this novel?"

"Don't worry, Sterling, the advantage is on our side!"

Jasper, once again brimming with confidence, made his decision: "There aren't many monthly magazines in London more suitable than ours, and with so much negative feedback, wouldn't others reconsider? Would they dare make such a hasty decision? At least we should keep an eye on things, and then we can raise the price appropriately, making that Russian writer grateful to us." After imagining the scene of the Russian writer fawning over him, Jasper, increasingly excited, said with a radiant face, "Trust my judgment! I won't let this opportunity slip away. If this fails, I'll jump into the Thames and take a swim!"

Jasper's partner: "."

Just as Jasper was starting to make his own moves, this newspaper report was generating an even bigger buzz in the public sphere.

Strictly speaking, this report is suspected of rehashing old material, because this part of the novel appeared quietly last month. Because it was so closely integrated with the plot, readers accepted this viewpoint almost without any obstacles.

When viewed in the context of the plot, there's nothing wrong with it; it might even give readers an "aha!" moment. But now that this part has been singled out and taken out of context, it shows that some people are truly up to no good.

However, in an era when the power of the church and various ideologies are still very strong, some things, taken out of context, are bound to cause a huge reaction. After all, as we all know, in the Book of Genesis in the Bible, God created various creatures “each according to its kind” in six days. So what is the meaning of this part of the plot in the novel?
This is God's domain!
How dare a novelist trespass into this forbidden zone?!
Therefore, when this report, which was suspected of being taken out of context, was seen by more and more Londoners, many devout Christians became restless. After the initial shock, they suddenly became agitated. Some couldn't help but curse and wrote letters to the publisher responsible for publishing the novel to protest.

As this matter continued to escalate, at Darwin House on the outskirts of London, a middle-aged man with very thinning hair was staring blankly at a newspaper article.

He had naturally heard of the novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," or rather, for some reason, such imaginative works had become popular in the British scientific community, just like the previous "Around the World in Eighty Days."

Normally, for scientists like them, novels involving scientific knowledge are often full of loopholes and difficult to truly immerse themselves in. However, the work of a Russian writer has caused quite a stir, and this middle-aged man has even heard some of his friends mention it.

Although he once had a great love for literature, especially poetry, decades of scientific training seemed to have changed his thinking. The works that used to fascinate him were becoming increasingly boring, and coupled with health problems, he had to gradually give up this kind of reading.

Therefore, even though he had heard about the novel from his friends, and his friends spoke highly of it, he still did not choose to buy a copy to read.

But now, as he snapped out of his reverie, he changed his mind. Driven by some complex psychology, he hurriedly got up and headed to the bookstore in London. Charles Robert Darwin seemed to have temporarily rekindled his interest in reading novels.

While various events were unfolding outside, a London publisher anxiously approached Mikhail, saying, "Mr. Mikhail, we know without a doubt that you are a devout Christian! Those reports in the newspapers are absolutely slander against your faith!"
We've already started working on articles refuting those claims; the newspaper reports are completely wrong! However, it would be best if you published one yourself.”

Mikhail: “?”

How come I didn't know I was a devout Christian?

Of course, I could also be
As for the reports in the newspapers, to be honest, Mikhail wasn't alarmed; on the contrary, he felt a sense of surprise that his clever idea had finally been discovered.
If we consider the timeline, the concept of "evolution" has already found a certain intellectual foundation in the scientific community today. In fact, Darwin had already written a 230-page paper in 1844, which was the prototype of "On the Origin of Species".

Darwin had realized the importance of the manuscript and even wrote a letter to his wife, instructing her to fund its publication if he were to die unexpectedly.

However, due to various concerns and the desire to produce more and more solid evidence, Darwin continues his research.

More than a decade later, an ideological revolution that nearly overturned the human spiritual world officially began.
Just as Mikhail was feeling excited about something, the publisher, who had already sensed Mikhail's somewhat excited expression, asked: "???"

Why was he not only not afraid, but even a little excited?
Blasphemy is a very serious charge!
Just how audacious is this Russian?!
When Mikhail noticed the stunned publisher, for practical reasons, he toned it down slightly, cleared his throat, and said, "It's just a novel. The newspaper reports haven't been considered in the context of the novel's content at all. I will issue a statement protesting the smears and slander in the newspapers."

Publisher: "?"

Why not just uphold your own beliefs?

Feeling that delving too deeply into the issue might affect his own interests, the publisher ultimately chose to ignore this minor detail.

After all, while other things are important, the pound sterling is a very real thing.

After a solution was found for this issue, another problem arose for Mikhail: how to resolve the price and treatment of the new novel.
(End of this chapter)