Shadow of great britain

The rain outside the window is getting heavier and heavier. If I use Alexandre Dumas' words to describe the pouring rain, it would be as if God drank too much wine last night.

But Alexandre Dumas, who always liked to make wisecracks, was in no mood to joke now.

Since he had obtained the manuscript of "The Red and the Black," he understood the reason why the novel was banned in France just a year after its publication.

It's not because this book is too fake, but because it is so true.

Although his father had already been marginalized by Napoleon when Alexandre Dumas was born, he at least got a glimpse of the decadent luxury of the French upper class when he was young.

In the era when he was growing up, he witnessed all kinds of monsters and monsters appearing among the lower and middle classes in France.

After he finished reading "The Red and the Black", he was convinced that the author of this book, Mr. Stendhal, must have had a similar life experience to himself, otherwise it would be impossible to describe the social ugliness of France in the past ten years so vividly. .

This was basically confirmed in the letter Hugo sent him.

Mr. Stendhal was much older than both he and Hugo, received a good education, personally experienced the Great Revolution in his youth, and participated enthusiastically in it.

However, unlike the German girls Heine often complained about, Mr. Stendhal was a real dragoon. And not only a dragoon, but also a glorious second lieutenant in the French Empire's Sixth Dragoon Regiment.

Due to his high management level, Stendhal was entrusted with the important task of serving as quartermaster of the Sixth Dragoon Regiment during Napoleon's expedition to Tsarist Russia.

But his glorious life ended here. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and the full restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, the desperate Stendhal could only leave a message: "We can't get anything except humiliation." From then on, Paris moved to Rome.

It was from this time that he began to pick up his pen, intending to find another way to relieve his growing depression due to the failure of the revolution.

But unfortunately, such a peaceful life did not last long.

Although Napoleon fell, his army not only brought war to Europe, but also exposed the European people to a brand-new idea.

Now that they have experienced the breeze of freedom, they naturally cannot stand the authoritarian tyrant sitting on their heads.

And this is also the direct reason why European countries have a large number of German angry youths like Heine, and why the Warsaw Uprising broke out in Poland.

In Italy, their cry was the Carbonari uprising that brought Mr. Louis Bonaparte to London by accident.

However, Stendhal was definitely a more senior veteran than Louis when it came to supporting the Carbonari uprising. As early as 1821, he was expelled from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for supporting the Carbonari Party.

Having lost his place in Italy, but being suspected by the current French July Monarchy because of his former supporter of Napoleon, and possibly even under long-term surveillance by the Grand Paris Police Department, Stendhal naturally could not Get a decent, stable job in Paris.

As time goes by, it is almost inevitable that he will fall into the current embarrassing situation of financial constraints and illness.

It was difficult to live in normal times, but when cholera swept through Paris, it is not difficult to understand that Hugo and other members of the Second Paris Literary Society wrote directly to Alexandre Dumas about Stendhal.

Alexandre Dumas can understand the mood of Hugo and others.

"Red and Black" is indeed a masterpiece worth publishing.

But as a fat Frenchman who often cared about politics, Dumas also understood the book's sensitivity.

If you want this book to be published, you must solve two problems, which are also the two main reasons why "The Red and the Black" was banned in Paris.

First, it is the extreme tendency to worship Napoleon revealed in the book.

Although France's July Monarchy openly recognized Napoleon's contributions to France in order to reconcile the conflicts between various political factions, in fact Louis Philippe's government had always been careful to be wary of the Bonapartists. power.

In Alexandre Dumas's view, this country-stealing clown who took advantage of the stalemate between the various forces to steal the fruits of the July Revolution was frightened every day and night.

The slightest disturbance may stir up his tense nerves. He is afraid that if there are too many books like "The Red and the Black", he will be ousted from the throne tomorrow by the upright French citizens who are infected by these literary works.

As for London, although they were not as afraid of Napoleon as the dead man like the French July Monarchy, they were relatively tolerant of various literary works involving Napoleon.

However, due to the influence of the Napoleonic Wars, the conservative forces within both the Whigs and the Tories have been committed to portraying Napoleon as a man-eating devil. Even within The Anglican, Disraeli had different opinions with Arthur when he decided to publish Louis's masterpiece "The Thoughts of Napoleon".

At that time, Arthur emphasized that publishing "Napoleonic Thoughts" could divert the readership of liberal radical publications such as the "Westminster Review" and thus open up a larger readership, and finally convinced Disraeli.

However, as a concession, "Napoleonic Thought" has also been permanently locked in the supplement "The Economist" to ensure that if something goes wrong, it can be abandoned at any time and will not affect the fashionable literary theme of "The British". business.

A copy of "Napoleonic Thoughts" has caused divisions within "The British". If it is coupled with "The Red and Black" which must be classified in the main magazine, God knows Mr. Disraeli, who is proudly serving as the vanguard of counter-reform in Parliament. Will you agree?

After all, your Lordships from the Tory party only know that Disraeli is the major shareholder of The British and an outstanding writer, but they do not know that The Economist is actually published by the editorial department of The British.

But if "The Red and the Black" appeared on the main page, Disraeli would have jumped directly into the Thames.

Although Mr. Disraeli often said when chatting with Arthur and others in private: "I will not write words that are not conducive to the overall measures of reform."

And before he decided to join the Tories, he even went to an activist campaign in High Wycombe.

However, when the flexible Disraeli met the Tory extremist leader and former Lord of the Admiralty John Crocker at a banquet, Disraeli immediately published a book called "British Peace". "France: Or the Cure for the Cabinet's Legalism", an anti-French and anti-Whig pamphlet, and enthusiastically invited Crocker to help correct it.

After the pamphlet was published, he shamelessly helped Crocker put his name as editor on the pamphlet.

Such behavior also opened the door to a Tory parliamentary seat for Disraeli. With the help of Crocker, he was often invited to attend internal Tory gatherings held at the White Club, where he met Mrs. Sykes, and later through Mrs. Sykes, she connected with the Earl of Lyndhurst.

Of course, everyone within The British knew that Disraeli was just acting out, so he began to perform his best half-truths on the Tories.

However, Disraeli is currently performing happily on the stage. If "The Englishman" brings out a copy of "The Red and the Black" at this time, his true face will be exposed.

Then Disraeli must have experienced another round of social death.

However, unlike the last round when he anonymously published "Vivian Grey" to attack his former partners, which led to his death in the British literary world, if Disraeli died in the political arena, no one would think that he would die in the short term. There is a chance to get up inside.

After all, the fate of the last traitor, Bernie Harrison, is still fresh in our minds.

Although Disraeli's crime was not that serious, it was certainly necessary to be kicked out by the Tories.

Therefore, it was difficult enough for Disraeli to publish The Red and the Black in the first place.

Secondly, if "The Red and the Black" only praises Napoleon, in the eyes of the current Gray Cabinet, at most it will sound harsh.

However, the worst problem is that "The Red and the Black" also describes many dirty transactions that are unsightly in the upper class.

Although the stories told in it are all about France, for most countries in the world, as long as they change their skin, these dirty stories are almost universally applicable.

For example, when Julien was working as a tutor for the mayor's children, in order to realize his ambition, he deliberately hooked up with the mayor's wife and had a relationship with her.

If nothing else, isn't that the story of Mr. Disraeli and Mrs. Sikes?

Therefore, when big people discover that reading a book is like looking in the mirror, it is indeed difficult not to remind them of their humble selves. No one wants to relive their despicable past actions, and at the same time, they don’t want others to see them.

Because this will destroy their great and glorious image and let the ordinary people who they usually look down on know that the big shots are just a bunch of high-level hooligans.

Alexandre Dumas is in a state of wandering mind.

Suddenly, he heard Arthur let out a sigh of relief.

"No matter how many times I read it, this book is still as wonderful as the first time. However, when I read it for the first time, I just thought it was full of stories. But now when I look back, I find that this book can be called It is a work of documentary literature. Mr. Stendhal deserves to be the founder of critical realism."

Alexandre Dumas held the wine glass, leaned on the table and said: "Critical realism, this new term is quite insightful. If "The Red and the Black" can be successfully published, you should probably write a separate literary review and talk about it in detail Critical Realism.”

Alexandre Dumas looked like he didn't care, but Arthur could tell from his half-full untouched wine glass that the fat man was actually quite worried.

Arthur said: "Alexander, don't hide it, this is not like you. What a writer like you wants is a straightforward temper and a fierce spirit like a fire. If you don't maintain this character and insist on learning melancholy, I will I guarantee you that you will never write another work like The Count of Monte Cristo."

Dumas just rolled his eyes and finished the glass of red wine: "If I could write "The Red and the Black," I would be happy to change my temper."

Arthur was honest and fair: "You should also know how difficult it is to publish this book. It has almost taken off the pants of the entire upper class. What is even more embarrassing is that if we publish it publicly, it is tantamount to letting them Just swaggering around like this.”

"What's wrong?" Alexandre Dumas said: "Not wanting to show it to others only shows that they are not confident about their own size."

Arthur smiled and nodded: "Alexander, you are always able to reveal secrets. I thought you were past the age of telling the truth."

"Didn't you ask me to say that?" Alexandre Dumas curled his lips: "And I have to emphasize that I am only 29 years old this year."

When Tennyson heard this, he also came over with a copy of Mickiewicz's poems: "Arthur, I know this request may be difficult for you to make, especially since you also let the Poles beat you in Liverpool. Gun. However, Mr. Mickiewicz's "Ancestor Sacrifice" really should not be buried in the hometown due to political prejudice."

Arthur saw them coming around one by one, and just said: "What are you two so anxious about? I didn't say I wanted to bury these things."

"Um?"

Alexandre Dumas raised his eyebrows, widened his eyes, and couldn't help but smile.

He patted Arthur's shoulders with both hands and said excitedly: "Arthur! My good boy! I knew it! Street fights, intimidation and threats, financial insiders, and collecting black money. Although these are all you, you will always be yours." You can still be a good police officer!”

When Arthur heard this, he just replied indifferently: "Alexander, are you complimenting me?"

"Of course it is. However, although the "Ancestor Sacrifice" article is relatively easy to solve, how are you going to explain to Benjamin that we plan to publish this "Red and Black"?"

"Why do you need to discuss it with Benjamin?"

"Huh?" Tennyson asked doubtfully: "This... are you planning to bypass Benjamin? This... this is not good. After all, he is also our major shareholder, and he is also one of our pillars! "

"No, Alfred, we're not going to release it directly from The Brits this time."

"Then...how do you plan to publish it?"

Arthur just laughed softly when he heard this, stood up and announced.

"My dear friends, you may not know something. The Ministry of Home Affairs is currently considering amending the Police Act 1829."

Tennyson wondered: "Does this have anything to do with us?"

Alexandre Dumas was more astute than Tennyson. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath: "I seem to have heard Sergeant Tom talk about this before. It seems that Scotland Yard may also be reorganized because of this. The powers of senior police officers It also needs to be re-divided... Since you mentioned this to us, could it be that the new powers you have at hand include..."

Arthur smiled and nodded slightly: "That's right. After the reorganization of Scotland Yard, I will be directly responsible for the suppression and control of all illegal publications in the London metropolitan area."