Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 221 Now, I need a "Watson"!
The study door closed gently, shutting out Debussy's piano music from the living room.

On the desk, a gas lamp illuminated a stack of blank manuscript paper and a quill pen stuck in an ink bottle.

Lionel sat down, took a deep breath, and realized that since *The Curious Case of Benjamin Buton* was coming to an end, he needed a new story—

A story that can simultaneously captivate readers in France and Britain and generate a stable and substantial income.

Almost immediately, a name jumped into his mind:

Sherlock Holmes

When he went to the UK before, the editor-in-chief of Good Words magazine promised him that if he was willing to "tailor-make" a serialized work for British readers, he would be willing to offer a sky-high fee of up to £10 per thousand words.

This was a huge sum of money in 1880, enough for him to live quite comfortably in Paris and even consider buying property.

While hospitalized in England, he met Arthur Conan Doyle and his teacher, Dr. Joseph Bell, who was also the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.

Dr. Bell's amazing observation and reasoning skills left an indelible impression on Lionel, who almost immediately thought of the detective who lived at 221B Baker Street.

While in England, Lionel once jokingly told Conan Doyle, "Dr. Bell is just like a detective; he should take a part-time job at Scotland Yard."

In fact, Dr. Joseph Bell did just that, and even helped the police solve the case.

Finally, detective fiction is a "universal language" that transcends national borders and cultures.

Its suspense, logic, and challenge have attracted the widest popular readership for more than a hundred years since its creation.

He could have followed the example of Benjamin's Curious Cases of Bouton and serialized the story simultaneously in England and France to maximize his profits.

This time, however, he needs a "Watson" to help him.

However, Lionel did not intend to completely copy Conan Doyle's original work.

As a reader from the future, he was well aware that while the Sherlock Holmes stories were great, they had many limitations in terms of the rigor and scientific accuracy of the reasoning, which were influenced by his time.

Some of them could even be described as "fatal flaws".

As a seasoned reader of the Sherlock Holmes stories, he was certainly aware of the "flaws" that later readers and critics have been so fond of discussing:
The descriptions of the hypnotic effects of drugs in "The Case of the Copper Beech Tree" are exaggerated to the point of being fantastical and lack pharmacological basis.

In "The Sapphire Case", the idea that the fire goose swallowed such a large gem on Christmas Day could be easily removed is too far-fetched.
In "The Yellow-Faced Man," the mother uses a mask to disguise her mixed-race child as a "yellow-faced man" in an attempt to deceive her husband, which would be almost impossible to fool any close-up observer in reality.

Of course, the most absurd case is the "Spotted Band Case".

The "Indian venomous snake" mentioned in this novel can survive for a long time in the cold and damp England, understand whistle commands, and even has a habit of crawling along the bell rope...

Of course, the most hilarious thing is that this snake actually survives by drinking milk.

Conan Doyle himself later admitted that sometimes he had to sacrifice some logic in order to meet deadlines and satisfy readers' curiosity.

But Lionel didn't have that kind of pressure.

Knowing these pitfalls in advance, he naturally avoided falling into them, striving to write a more meticulous "Sherlock Holmes" series.

Of course, he will not change the core character settings of Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

That calm, rational, knowledgeable, and slightly eccentric consulting detective, and his brave, loyal, and meticulous doctor friend…

This combination is key to attracting readers in the UK and around the world.

What Lionel wanted to do was to portray Sherlock Holmes as more "pure".

He will be a detective who relies on keen observation, rigorous logic, and extensive scientific knowledge to deduce, rather than a near-psychic wizard.

All cases should be closer to the possibility of real-world crimes, avoiding supernatural and overly sensational elements.

In that case, some of the stories in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" would have to be discarded—but that's okay, there are plenty of other detectives' cases!

With his mind made up, Lionel spread out the letter paper and picked up the quill pen.

First, he wrote a letter to the editor of the magazine "Good Words".

He said that after thinking it over, he had a good idea: a long series of novels specifically tailored for British readers.

The story will be full of suspense, logic, and rich British flavor.

He expects to start contributing articles in the second half of the year and hopes that Good Words can reserve valuable space for him.

Then he wrote a letter to Arthur Conan Doyle, who was far away in Edinburgh.

In the letter, he first inquired about the other party's recent situation and mentioned his deep impression of Dr. Bell.

Then, he changed the subject and made a suggestion:
He is conceiving a series of detective stories, the protagonist of which is partly inspired by Dr. Bell's deductive reasoning.

Given that Conan Doyle was a medical student with professional training in scientific observation and logical reasoning, and was also passionate about literary creation, Lionel asked him if he would be willing to serve as his "literary assistant".
The work may include helping to gather medical, chemical, or criminological information, verifying the plausibility of reasoning details, and even participating in discussions of parts of the plot.

Lionel promised to pay a generous reward.

Furthermore, if Conan Doyle's contribution is significant enough, he might even consider listing Conan Doyle's name as a co-author or special advisor after his own name when the work is published.

Lionel believed this might lead to a more perfect Sherlock Holmes and help Conan Doyle embark on his literary career sooner.

Although Conan Doyle in the original historical timeline became famous and made a fortune with "Sherlock Holmes," he himself did not like the story or the detective.

So Conan Doyle later "murdered" Holmes because he was tired of him.

Although he reluctantly revived "Sherlock Holmes" due to strong demand from readers, his creative process was rather perfunctory, and many inferior works were produced during this period.

The two letters were finished, the ink still wet. Lionel called Alice over: "Alice, could you please use your new gadget to neatly copy these two letters and send them to England first thing tomorrow morning?"

Lionel handed her the letter.

Alice took the letter, her tone quite excited: "No problem, Leon! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

She was clearly eager to test the typewriter's effectiveness in formal work.

Shortly after Alice returned to her room with the letter and typewriter, the apartment doorbell rang urgently.

Who could it be so late?

Lionel was somewhat surprised.

Petit had already gone to sleep, and Debussy had also said goodbye and returned to his residence near the music academy.

He walked to the foyer and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was Guy de Maupassant.

His hat was askew, his face was flushed, he exhaled white breath, and his eyes flashed with an unusual urgency and anxiety.

Lionel was surprised and ushered him into the house: "Guy? Come in quickly! What brings you here at this hour?"

Maupassant strode into the warm apartment, rubbing his hands together as he said urgently, "Léon! Come with me right now, to Croise!"

Lionel was stunned: "Crovasté? What happened to Mr. Flaubert?"

(End of this chapter)