I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 240 The French Power Within Mikhail and the Movements of Various Parties
Because Mikhail left France and Paris so quietly, it took the Parisian literary world a week or two to gradually realize what was happening. When many people learned from Turgenev that Mikhail would not be returning anytime soon, the Parisian literary community was overjoyed, as if they had seen a rainbow after a storm.

Mikhail the Russian is gone! And the sunny days have returned to Paris!

There's no way around it. Paris is the center of European culture, and it's unacceptable for a Russian to win here time and time again. Don't we Parisian poets, playwrights, critics, and novelists have any dignity?
During Mikhail's time there, it was as if his voice dominated the entire Parisian literary scene, which naturally fueled the growing resentment of Parisians towards him.

But when they learned that Mikhail was going to write English novels for the British, they were shocked and their attitude towards him underwent another major change.

In the week or two since Mikhail left, Paris has been deliberately ignoring or criticizing him.

Two or three weeks after Mikhail left, the Parisian intellectuals gradually calmed down and began to crane their necks to find out news of Mikhail from England.

When the literary and press circles of Paris learned of Mikhail's first major move in London—the publication of a Christmas book on the same day as the famous British writer Charles Dickens—some newspapers, eager for a spectacle and to gain public attention, immediately published the following news:
"The British literary world? Mr. Mikhail, having left Paris for London, is directly challenging Britain's most famous writer, Dickens, on the day before Christmas!"

Reports like this immediately thrilled many in the Parisian literary world. After all, when Mikhail first arrived in Paris, he had to take things one step at a time, and even took the initiative to visit our Parisian literary figures such as Mr. Hugo, Mr. Dumas, and Mr. Balzac to seek their advice.

Upon arriving in England, he didn't even bother to visit any of the famous writers, and instead went straight to challenge the most famous British author!
What does this mean?
We, the Parisian literary scene, have won!

The British deserve to be challenged directly! Not even Dickens!
Such sensational news immediately attracted public attention.

After all, Mikhail's "La Dame aux Camélias" is still being performed steadily, and "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is still being serialized. No matter how forgetful Parisians are, they cannot simply forget this young writer, Mikhail.

So what is he doing now?

He's even switched to a different language for his creative work!

And he's already trying to compete with the most famous British writers after only writing a short time?

What arrogance and self-confidence!

If he did this in France, it might have drawn a lot of criticism and resentment, but doing it in Britain would have been too much.
This is a good thing!
Let's use the power of France to take down the British!

As a result, the public became increasingly eager for news in this regard, and the major newspapers in Paris were happy to cater to the public's tastes in order to boost sales, so they continued to pay close attention to news from Mikhail's side.

Frankly, at the beginning, many people in the Parisian literary world felt that Mikhail's decision to publish his book on the same day as Dickens was not a good idea. After all, firstly, it was Mikhail's first time writing in English, and secondly, Mr. Dickens had a large number of readers in London. Even if Mikhail already had a certain reputation in England, he should not have made such a decision.

Just when many literary figures thought Mikhail's trip to England would be a dismal start, what kind of incredible number is it that it's been reprinted three times and sold nearly 10,000 copies?
The Parisian literary world: "?"

Although he still can't compare to Mr. Dickens, this number actually means that Mikhail can hold his own against Mr. Dickens!
Is this right? !

Many Parisian newspapers didn't care about right or wrong; seeing that Mikhail was actually achieving good sales in Britain, their headlines were simply:
"Mr. Mikhail from France, whose Christmas books actually made Dickens look embarrassed and retreat step by step!"

Mikhail, who already knew about the news, was like: "?"

You're not allowed to distort the facts, and you're not allowed to directly strip me of my current citizenship, you bastard!
Whether it's factual or not, for Parisians, the headline and the fact that it actually sold 10,000 copies immediately caused a huge stir:
"I knew long ago that Mr. Mikhail was actually French! Look, the newspapers even said it directly!"

"Is this all that Britain's most famous writer is capable of? Mr. Mikhail has already achieved such success just by starting to write in English. What if he wrote for another ten years? Britain's most famous writer would then be a Russian!"

"I used to think that the poets and playwrights in Paris were quite incompetent, unable to even compare to a young man. Now it seems that it wasn't their fault; the English were far more embarrassed in front of this Mr. Mikhail!"

"Could he achieve such success even in a new country, writing in a new language? Is there really such a genius in the world? We must keep him in Paris!"

"Unbelievable! Is there any bookstore in Paris that sells this Christmas book? I can't wait to find it and see!"

When the public began to discuss the matter, the news washed away the previous humiliation and gloom for the literary world in Paris. In fact, when people talked about the young man Mikhail's deeds again, the atmosphere was filled with joy and admiration.

That's it!

It's not that we're bad, but that young man is just being unreasonable.

In that case, what is there for us to feel ashamed or resentful about?

The British haven't even complained yet!
In this atmosphere, Turgenev suddenly became restless.

In fact, in the period immediately following Mikhail's departure, Turgenev rarely mentioned Mikhail's affairs in Britain in public.

After all, whether Mikhail could succeed was uncertain, and Turgenev didn't want anyone to use this opportunity to ridicule Mikhail. And after a period of silence...
Something's wrong, everything's wrong.

Turgenev realized almost immediately that this was a winning situation, and so, here he came, with his usual boastful anecdotes.
"Gentlemen, Mikhail writes to me every now and then, so I certainly know what he is thinking after he went to England."

When Mikhail first arrived in London, he was unwilling to reveal his true identity. He only wanted to create his new works in English before considering anything else.

After he finally finished his work, he looked around at the people in the British literary world. He didn't even lower his head; instead, he looked directly at the highest point!

He once said: Every day you don't dance is a day you betray life!
He didn't want to waste too much time in England on other people, so…

As Mikhail's representative in France, Turgenev was quite happy to briefly tell these stories at various occasions in Parisian high society. Whenever he saw the Parisian ladies and young women listening with great interest, Turgenev couldn't help but slap his thigh, shake his head, and sigh.
Of course, given how close Britain is to France, Turgenev's artistic embellishments are one thing, but they certainly wouldn't be as incredible as previously described.

When Mikhail's Christmas books were a success, Turgenev thought that Mikhail would take a break for a while, and perhaps even return to Paris to do some more business. However, Mikhail had no intention of resting at all, and continued to be busy with something in London.

Just as Turgenev was slightly puzzled, when he appeared at a party as usual one day, before he could even greet his acquaintances, almost instantly a crowd surrounded him and asked enthusiastically:
"Mr. Turgenev, I've heard that Mr. Mikhail's novel, which is being serialized in England, seems to be quite popular. I'd like to acquire the French rights to this novel. Would you be so kind as to mention it to Mr. Mikhail?"

"I've heard about it too! Apparently, this brand-new novel genre was inspired by our Frenchman, Mr. Vidocq. That's the power of combining Mr. Mikhail's genius with French culture and famous figures! It easily captivated the British; such a work must be brought back to France!"

"Our newspaper is planning to write several news articles about this matter. Do you have any more detailed information? Or what are Mr. Mikhail's thoughts on his novel?"

"Do you know what Mr. Mikhail is planning next, and what he intends to do to conquer the British literary world?"

Turgenev, feeling dizzy from listening: "???"

How come you all have better access to information than I do?!

However, Mikhail did mention that he was going to serialize a novel in the UK. Now it seems that Mikhail has succeeded again.
Although the amount of information was enormous, Turgenev, as a long-time friend of Mikhail, was far more resistant to the many events surrounding Mikhail than anyone else.

Therefore, Turgenev quickly realized what was going on, then smiled slightly and raised his hand, saying rather mysteriously, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, I can't reveal more information for the time being, because it involves some of Mikhail's upcoming arrangements."

"You should proceed based on the information you already have."

Is there another arrangement?
Given all this, what does he want to do next?
Upon hearing this news, the people surrounding Turgenev became even more excited, but no matter how much they asked, Turgenev refused to reveal any information.

Left with no other option, they could either continue to inquire about the news or write directly to Mikhail to discuss the copyright issues of the new book. Meanwhile, many others were undoubtedly impatient and needed to publish the news as quickly as possible to attract public attention to the greatest extent possible.

Within two days, headlines like these appeared in Parisian newspapers: "The French Power in Monsieur Mikhail!"

Breaking news: A new genre of fiction has emerged and is gaining popularity in the UK.

Many of the people Mikhail had met in Paris were naturally able to see these kinds of news reports.

Throughout this, Hugo remained as solemn and serene as ever, simply commenting to his followers, "Not bad," and then made no further remarks, as if he didn't care about this shocking event.

That's how it appears on the surface; whether Hugo was secretly wiping away sweat, only God knows.
Alexandre Dumas learned of this news at the dinner table. Upon hearing it, he was first taken aback, then quickly burst into hearty laughter: "I knew it! It seems what I said when he first came to Paris was correct! And now it seems we need to add England to France!"

But I still hope he gets back to Paris soon. Is there really any decent food in London?

It is worth mentioning that the new dish created by Mikhail and Alexandre Dumas was not well received at first, but as time went by, with Dumas' enthusiastic promotion and news of Mikhail's success reaching Paris, more and more people began to appreciate the unique flavor of this new dish.

Of course, not everyone was happy for Mikhail's success. When Balzac saw the news, his hand holding the newspaper trembled slightly, and his usually strong and powerful face turned a little pale.

At that moment, Balzac's mind was filled with Mikhail's words before he left: "I may not succeed in England; it's just an attempt. Perhaps I'll have to leave before long."

This is what you meant by "trying"?!
Now you've even made money off the British!
Just as Balzac was feeling disheartened and pained, another uninvited guest arrived at his home. The guest immediately got straight to the point: "Mr. Balzac, shouldn't you have finished writing the manuscript you owe me by now? I even prepaid you several hundred francs!"

Balzac: "."

Why did you have to come at this particular time?
In the end, however, Balzac could only go to the printing press designated by the publisher, like a hero and a prisoner, and then demonstrate to them what it means to write, revise, and print on the spot.

While Paris was still occasionally agitated because of Mikhail, on the other side of the world, Belinsky, who had finished his recuperation in Paris and had officially bid farewell to others, had already stepped back onto Russian soil.

After so much time had passed, Belinsky could no longer suppress his urge to make a big splash.
(End of this chapter)