Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 226 The New "Watson"!
Conan Doyle's letter was full of enthusiasm:

[My dear friend Lionel:]
Receiving your letter filled me with such excitement and joy that words cannot describe it! I can hardly believe that such a great honor has been bestowed upon me!
Your detective story idea, inspired by my beloved mentor Dr. Bell, is absolutely brilliant! It's a wonderful idea!
If Dr. Bell knew that his deductive method could inspire such interesting literary creation, he would probably smile knowingly.

I, Arthur Conan Doyle, am thrilled and humbled to accept your generous offer of the position of “Literary Assistant”!
Assisting a writer like yourself, whom I deeply admire, in completing your work is not only a learning opportunity but also an unparalleled pleasure!
Please rest assured that I will do my utmost, using my limited knowledge of medicine and chemistry, as well as all my knowledge of Britain, to verify the details and gather information for you.

Being able to participate in the birth of this wonderful story is the best reward in itself!

Regarding your mention of authorship, your generosity is truly overwhelming and I am flattered.

I would never dare to hope to be listed alongside your name; to be mentioned as a "special advisor" would be a great honor for me.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate for us to discuss this matter in the future, after I have made some truly commendable contributions.

Enclosed with this letter are some medical notes summarizing common drug and poison effects and symptoms, as well as the recovery period from trauma, which may be useful in your future writing.

If you have any other needs, whether it be medical, chemical, or the geography and social customs of London, please feel free to write to me and I will do my best to assist you!
We eagerly await your further instructions and sharing!

Your loyal friend and admirer, Arthur Conan Doyle, at the University of Edinburgh Medical School
September 1880, 1]

This is undoubtedly a perfect start.

Lionel could already imagine that, with their combined efforts, they would create a more rigorous and exciting version of Sherlock Holmes than the original.

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The next day, Lionel returned to the Sorbonne to end his vacation.

Dean Dupont readily agreed and signed the document.

Since it was the last semester, the coursework became very relaxed, and the professors didn't care who was missing from the class.

Most students are either busy preparing for graduation exams or trying to find connections to secure a respectable job after graduation.

Lionel had neither to worry about, so he lived a particularly easy life.

As soon as school was over in the afternoon, he declined Albert's invitation to go dancing at the "Cosmos Garden" and went straight home.

It's time to bring in the consulting detective who lives at 221B Baker Street and his doctor friend.

Since Conan Doyle is so eager for it, and since Dr. McLeod has already reserved space for it, he must come up with a strong opening as soon as possible.

Lionel decided to start with "A Study in Scarlet" again.

This is the starting point of the Sherlock Holmes and Watson legend, and one of the most classic cases that best demonstrates his deductive reasoning abilities.

However, the details of the story and the background of the character "John H. Watson" need to be adjusted to some extent.

In the original story, Watson was a military doctor who was wounded and retired during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. He met Holmes in 1887, the year Conan Doyle began writing the story.

However, Lionel began writing at the very beginning of 1880.

John H. Watson's status as a retired military doctor became somewhat sensitive and inappropriate at this point in time—after all, the war was not yet over, and it was easy to cause unnecessary controversy.

However, veterans of other eras of war are either too old—as in the Crimean War—or lack sufficient drama.

Therefore, he decided to make a bold change to Watson's identity.

In Lionel's version, "Watson" will no longer be a military doctor, but a young, ambitious but financially strapped medical graduate student from the University of Edinburgh. He arrives in London to stay with his uncle, who runs a private clinic, where he works as an assistant for a meager income and is looking for affordable and suitable accommodation.

It was against this backdrop that he met the maverick consulting detective Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street in London.

This new "Watson" was naturally inspired by Conan Doyle—Conan Doyle must have made the connection after seeing the manuscript, which probably made him even more enthusiastic about his work.

Lionel pondered for a moment, then began to write the title at the top of the manuscript: "A Study in Scarlet".

He first wrote the title in French on the top line, and then wrote it again in English on the next line—he wanted to ensure that at least the title of this novel would not be translated incorrectly.

In fact, the most common Chinese translation of "A Study in Scarlet" is incorrect.

"A Study in Scarlet" might be more appropriately translated as "A Study in Scarlet".

The story is still narrated from Watson's perspective:
In 1880, I received my medical doctorate from the University of London and later pursued further studies in surgery at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Shortly after completing my studies, I was hired as an assistant physician by a distant uncle who ran a private practice on Harley Street in London. However, the prosperity of Harley Street had little to do with my situation; the practice was not doing well, and my uncle's salary was naturally meager, while the cost of living in London was staggering. I had to begin searching for cheaper accommodation.

It was then, by sheer chance, that I ran into the young Mr. Stamford in a smoking parlor on Strand Street—a former colleague of mine at Butts Hospital. We were both delighted to run into an acquaintance in the vast city of London. Upon learning that I was looking for accommodation, he slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “What a coincidence! This morning someone came to the hospital lab complaining that he had found several nice suites, good enough to satisfy anyone, but couldn’t find anyone to share the rent with.”

"Oh?" I suddenly became interested. "If he really wants to find a roommate, I would be perfect for him. I would rather share a place than live alone."

Stamford exhaled a smoke ring and looked me up and down with a rather peculiar gaze: "You haven't met Mr. Sherlock Holmes yet, and perhaps you're not ready to be his long-term partner."

"Why? Does he have some unpleasant problem?"

"Oh... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him. He's just a little eccentric—obsessed with certain scientific fields. As far as I know, he's a very decent person."

"Is he a doctor too?" I asked.

"No—I have absolutely no idea what he's researching. I believe he's an expert in anatomy and a first-rate pharmacist. But as far as I know, he's never taken any systematic medical courses. His research is very haphazard, unsystematic, and even a bit bizarre; however, he has indeed accumulated a great deal of strange and unusual knowledge that would surprise even his professors."

...]

Lionel wrote fluently, making extensive revisions to reflect the realities of the 19th century, based on the transformation of "Watson's" identity.

Having just graduated from medical school and not yet financially well-off, Watson certainly wouldn't spend his days drowning his sorrows in pubs like in the original story.

"Smoking room" seems much more appropriate—large cafes, theaters, opera houses, and other venues in London and Paris all have "smoking rooms" where men can smoke and exchange ideas.

It is a formal social venue where guests mainly smoke cigarettes, cigars, and hookah.

Of course, there were also many other "smoking pubs" in London's East End at that time, using opium from both Bangladesh and Yunnan, China.

The earliest customers of the "smoking pub" were immigrant sailors from China, and it gradually attracted the poor and working class to patronize it.

Later, even some upper-class "curiosities" came to visit, making it a fashionable trend in London's literary and artistic circles. Dickens was one of the regulars.

Regardless of the origin of the opium, the equipment used is basically a long Chinese-style pipe. The opium is heated with a small lamp or charcoal fire, and then one enjoys it while lying on a couch.

This is basically the most successful cultural export of the Qing Dynasty in the 19th century, unique and unparalleled.

Soon, he wrote about the scene where the two went to 221B Baker Street and met Sherlock Holmes for the first time.

This is the main event at the beginning, and it must accurately showcase Holmes' amazing observation and deductive abilities, which is also the key to the novel's success!
(Two updates for today, I'm feeling really weak, I'll make up for it later)

(End of this chapter)