British writer

Time came to mid-January.

Arthur Conan Doyle was sitting at the table, holding a pen in his right hand, staring blankly at the manuscript paper in front of him.

Only the name of the article was written on the manuscript paper——

"Empty House".

This is the first of a new collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Return.

Doyle had already thought about the outline of the story, but he was so upset that every time he picked up the pen, he always felt that something was wrong, so he put down the pen again and went back to the original point to conceive how to write the article.

In fact, Doyle is not confident,

Even though The Hound of the Baskervilles sold well, he still felt overwhelmed by And There Were None.

At this moment, his beloved wife Hawkins pushed the door and entered the room,

Squeak——

The door slammed softly.

Doyle scratched his head irritably and asked, "Is it time for dinner?"

Hawkins was a little distressed, and walked up to rub Doyle's brows, as if he wanted to melt away the wrinkles there.

She asked, "Why don't you use a typewriter?"

Doyle became more irritable.

He really likes to use a typewriter for his creations in the past, but that is when he has ideas. As long as the ideas continue, he doesn’t have to worry about problems such as caving or modification.

But now...

"It's easier to write by hand."

Doyle was stubborn.

Hawkins vaguely sensed that her husband was not in a good mood, so he stopped talking and pulled her husband up.

She pushed Doyle from behind to the door,

"Shave, let's go out to eat!"

Because of writing, Doyle is so busy that he doesn't know the sun and the moon, and his image is a bit rough and unshaven, like a savage who just came to human society from the jungle.

He also thought it might be good to go out to change his mood, so he shaved his beard in a good manner.

As a result, Hawkins was slower than him,

From washing to makeup, to choosing clothes, and matching hats, gloves, and accessories, the whole process takes at least forty minutes.

Doyle couldn't help muttering:

"Oh, woman."

He was used to it, poured himself a cup of tea, sat at the dining table, picked up a newspaper and read it.

Headlines are still a commonplace question,

war,

troops,

military spending.

From Christmas to New Year's Day, there was a temporary cessation of fire on the South African battlefield, and it was rare that the major media did not frantically output the issue of the Anglo-Boer War.

Now that the holidays are over, liberals and conservatives are at war again.

But because of "Yes! With the publication of The Prime Minister, Cecil’s cabinet has been condemned by many citizens, especially the Manchester Guardian, which can be described as comprehensive and full-depth.

Judging by that posture, it seems that there is a determination not to give up until the Conservative Party is forced to step down.

Doyle shook his head,

""Yes! Prime Minister"? Huh..."

He looked back with disdain.

When I came to the book review page, the first thing that caught my eye was the praise of "Roman Holiday" and its author Lu,

Doyle was numb.

During this time, almost everyone is discussing "Roman Holiday\

,"Even his wife Hawkins joined in the fun to watch one, and when she came back, she was full of excitement, saying that the love between Princess Anne and reporter Joe in the play is the purest love in the world.

Doyle felt pure as a mallet,

Didn't the reporter have impure motives when he first came into contact with the princess?

Doyle sighed again,

"Oh, woman."

He threw the "Manchester Guardian" aside, glanced at the "Times" and "Daily Telegraph", guessing that the two newspapers were also extremely boring, and then picked up a copy of the "London Illustrated News".

The Illustrated London News is a British weekly magazine founded in 1842.

It used woodcuts and prints extensively, and was the first publication in London to use illustrations. Even in the early 20th century, when photographic technology and gravure printing became popular, it was the publication with the most illustrations.

Doyle felt that since he was waiting for his wife anyway, since he wanted to pass the time, he might as well look at the pictures more.

He browsed randomly, only looking for pages with illustrations.

Not long after, he gave a soft "Huh?" and read in a low voice:

"

‘I watched Roman Holiday once a week ago and it didn’t feel right. Recently, I watched it again, and I still don't feel much. '

"

It turned out to be a rare criticism of "Roman Holiday".

Doyle is interested,

He reread the title. It was called "The Overrated Roman Holiday," and the author was Montagu James.

The name was somewhat familiar, but Doyle couldn't remember who it was.

He continued reading the article:

"

‘If I have a feeling, it’s that Miss Felice’s incomparable beauty and noble and elegant temperament are still heart-wrenching. She made Roman Holiday, not Roman Holiday made her. '

"

Next, the article made a very implicit criticism,

James believes that apart from the novelty of the text, the structure of the whole play is still a classic linear narrative, which is not very innovative and even has some flaws.

To sum it up in one sentence:

The reason why "Roman Holiday" became a classic is all due to Phyllis' peerless elegance, which has almost nothing to do with the playwright Lu.

This piece of literary criticism is hearty,

Doyle sighed in admiration: "Good!"

He even had the urge to make a statement, and even flipped through the magazines with more energy.

Unexpectedly, he turned a few pages later and stopped again.

It was a short ghost story called The Painting,

The story tells that there is an old painting in a certain college of Oxford University. The content of the painting is simple. There is only one house.

One day, under the cold moonlight, the still house suddenly moved. The window on the wall of the house was pushed open by something unknown, and a black shadow crawled out...

Doyle read no more,

Ghosts and gods, something that humans cannot see, hear, and even more unimaginable,

It may not be mysterious, it's just a random imagination of the human brain, but perhaps, it is a very terrifying existence,

Therefore, ghosts and gods have always been good subjects.

Doyle stared at the author's name,

After a while, he showed a suddenly realized expression,

"It turned out to be the professor of strange novels in Cambridge who specializes in the study of the Bible and folklore. However, he is good enough. To write a ghost story and set the background in Oxford, isn't this a pure disgusting person?"

As soon as the words fell, Hawkins' voice came from behind: "What disgusting person?"

She is finally dressed.

Doyle said: "It's nothing, just a writer in Cambridge suddenly... um..."

Before finishing the following words, Doyle frowned and fell into deep thought,

James publicly criticized Lu in the magazine and published a short ghost story at the same time, which was obviously a kind of provocation full of gunpowder.

Could it be that there was some quarrel between Lu Shi and Cambridge?

The more Doyle thought about it, the more likely it seemed,

He asked Hawkins: "Before, did we hear that Lu Shi would publish a new work in The Scotsman?"

Hawkins nodded.

"Yes, everyone in the industry knows about it."

Hearing this answer, Doyle was sure,

James' move is to snipe Lu Shi,

Therefore, it is impossible for him to prepare only a short ghost story, but a collection of stories that can be serialized for a long time, so as to confront Lu Shigang head-on.

Doyle's eyes lit up involuntarily,

"Maybe, I can also take advantage of the situation..."

He stood up abruptly, kissed Hawkins hard, and said, "I won't go out to eat today. I'm writing like a fountain right now, and I want to write "The Empty House" quickly."

Hawkins touched the lip marks left by her husband, with a look of surprise,

"Aren't you unable to write just now?"

"It's different now," Doyle said.

After speaking, Doyle entered the room.

boom--

The door was closed.

Not long after, the mechanical sound of the typewriter keyboard being tapped came from inside.