The study door gently closed, shutting out the sound of Debussy's piano from the living room.
On the desk, a gas lamp illuminated a stack of blank manuscript paper and a quill pen stuck in an inkwell.
Lionel sat down and took a deep breath.
Since The Strange Case of Benjamin Bouton was coming to an end, he needed a new story—
A story that could conquer both French and British readers and bring in a steady and considerable income.
Almost immediately, a name jumped into his mind:
"Sherlock Holmes"
When he went to England previously, the editor-in-chief of Good Words magazine had promised him that if he was willing to "tailor-make" a serialized work for British readers, he would offer a sky-high manuscript fee of up to 10 pounds/thousand words.
This was a huge sum in 1880, enough to allow him to live quite comfortably in Paris, even considering purchasing property.
And while hospitalized in England, he met Arthur Conan Doyle; as well as his teacher, and the prototype for "Holmes"—Dr. Joseph Bell.
Dr. Bell's astonishing powers of observation and deduction left an indelible impression on Lionel, and he almost immediately thought of the detective living at 221B Baker Street.
While in England, Lionel had once jokingly said to Conan Doyle:
"Dr. Bell is practically a detective, he should moonlight at Scotland Yard."
In fact, Dr. Joseph Bell really did do that, even helping the police solve cases.
The final reason was that detective fiction is a "universal language" that can transcend national borders and cultures.
Its suspense, logic, and challenge have attracted the broadest popular readership for over a hundred years since its inception.
He could totally do what he did with The Strange Case of Benjamin Bouton, running simultaneous serialization in English and French, maximizing his earnings.
Only this time, he would need a "Watson" to help him.
However, Lionel had no intention of completely copying Conan Doyle's original work.
As a reader from the future, he knew that while the Holmes stories were great, they had many limitations of their era in terms of rigor and scientific accuracy in their deductions.
Some could even be called "glaring flaws."
As a seasoned reader of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, he certainly knew the "flaws" that later readers and critics so eagerly discussed:
The description of the hypnotic effect of drugs in The Adventure of the Copper Beeches was overly exaggerated, almost fantastical, lacking pharmacological basis.
In The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, the plot was too far-fetched for such a large jewel to be easily retrieved after a Christmas goose swallowed it;
In The Adventure of the Yellow Face, the mother disguised her biracial child as a "yellow-faced person" with a mask, attempting to deceive her husband, which would be almost impossible to fool any close observation in reality.
Of course, the most absurd was The Adventure of the Speckled Band.
The "Indian swamp adder" mentioned in this story somehow managed to survive long-term in cold, damp England, could understand whistle commands, and was accustomed to climbing up bell-ropes…
And of course, the most amusing part was that this snake supposedly sustained itself by drinking milk.
Conan Doyle himself later admitted that sometimes, to meet deadlines and satisfy readers' curiosity, he had to sacrifice some logical consistency.
But Lionel did not have such pressure.
He knew about these "pits" in advance, and of course, he would avoid falling into them, striving to write a Sherlock Holmes collection that was more rigorous in its details.
Of course, he would not change the core personalities of Holmes and Watson.
That calm, rational, knowledgeable, and slightly eccentric consulting detective, and his brave, loyal, and good-at-documenting doctor friend...
This combination was the key to attracting readers in Britain and indeed, worldwide.
What Lionel wanted to do was to make Holmes even more "pure."
He would be a detective who relied on extreme observation, rigorous logic, and broad scientific knowledge for deduction, rather than an almost psychic wizard.
All cases would be closer to the possibilities of real crime, avoiding supernatural and overly sensational elements.
In that case, some stories from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes would have to be discarded—
But that's okay, there are plenty of cases from other detectives!
With his plan set, Lionel spread out a sheet of paper and picked up his quill pen.
First, he wrote a letter to the editor of Good Words magazine.
He stated that after consideration, he had a good idea for a long-form series specially tailored for British readers.
The story would be full of suspense, logic, and rich British flavor.
He expected to start submitting manuscripts in the second half of the year and hoped Good Words could reserve valuable space for it.
Next, 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 his tone and made a proposal:
He was conceptualizing a series of detective stories, the protagonist of which was partly inspired by Dr. Bell's deductive method.
Given that Conan Doyle himself was a medical student with professional training in scientific observation and logical reasoning, and also passionate about literary creation, Lionel asked if he would be willing to serve as his "literary assistant"?
The work might include helping to collect information on medicine, chemistry, or criminology, verifying the rationality of deductive details, and even participating in discussions about parts of the plot.
Lionel promised generous remuneration.
And, if Conan Doyle's contribution was significant enough, he might even consider listing Conan Doyle's name as a co-author or special consultant, placed after his own name, upon publication.
Lionel believed this might lead to a more perfect Sherlock Holmes and could help Conan Doyle embark on a literary path earlier.
In the original historical timeline, Conan Doyle became famous and wealthy through "Sherlock Holmes," but he himself did not like this story or this detective.
So later, tired of Holmes, Conan Doyle directly "murdered" him.
Although he reluctantly revived "Holmes" due to strong reader demand, his creative state was rather perfunctory, and many inferior works were produced during this period.
The two letters were written, the ink still wet.
Lionel called Alice:
"Alice, please use your new darling (typewriter) to neatly transcribe these two letters. Mail them to England first thing tomorrow morning."
Lionel handed her the letters.
Alice took the letters, her voice quite excited:
"No problem, Lion! Mission accomplished, I guarantee it!"
She was clearly eager to test the efficiency of the typewriter in formal work.
Shortly after Alice returned to her room with the letters and typewriter, the apartment doorbell suddenly rang urgently.
So late, who could it be?
Lionel was a little surprised.
Patty was already asleep, and Debussy had long since left to return to his residence near the conservatory.
He walked to the entrance hall and opened the door.
Standing outside the door was Guy de Maupassant.
His hat was slightly askew, his face was flushed, white mist came out with his breath, and his eyes gleamed with unusual urgency and anxiety.
Lionel, surprised, let him in:
"Guy? Come in quickly! Why are you here at this hour?"
Maupassant strode into the warm apartment, rubbing his hands as he spoke, his voice urgent:
"Lion! Come with me right away, to Croisset!"
Lionel froze:
"Croisset? What happened to Monsieur Flaubert?"
(End of this chapter)
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