August in Paris was like a boiling cauldron.
The Seine, under the scorching sun, evaporated with foul odors that, mixed with the horse manure on the streets, once again assaulted the eyes and noses of the residents.
Bankers, factory owners, high-ranking officials, wealthy middle-class... had long since fled this suffocating city like migratory birds.
They either went to their country villas in Normandy, or the seaside resorts of Brittany, or to the cool lakeside retreats in the Alps and Provence.
Those who remained, besides ordinary citizens who had no choice but to stay at their posts, were the struggling poor artists in their garrets and the workers toiling in sweat in their workshops...
However, this summer, the Parisian literary and art circles did not completely fall silent due to the intense heat.
The source of this agitation was not a specific art exhibition or the premiere of a play, but news that had traveled across the Channel from London—
Lionel Sorel had, against all odds, stirred up an unprecedented storm in England!
In the cafés where artists gathered, be it in the Latin Quarter, Passy, or Montmartre, people were whispering and discussing this news.
A critic with a goatee said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone:
"Have you heard? Young Mr. Sorel has caused quite a stir in London!"
A young writer, waving a copy of Le Figaro, exclaimed:
"More than a stir? It's an earthquake! Look at this—
'French author Lionel Sorel's new work, A Study in Scarlet, conquers London, mysterious detective Sherlock Holmes sparks a nationwide craze'...
My God, when have the British ever been so enthusiastic about our literature? And for a 'detective novel' at that!"
A poet wearing pince-nez scoffed:
"Detective novel? Is it one of those things full of bizarre coincidences, like what Émile Gaboriau writes?
How could Lionel Sorel write something like this? It's practically lowering his status!"
This poet's reaction was precisely the most common response in Parisian cultural circles—confusion, incomprehension, and a touch of disdain.
In this era, French was the lingua franca of the European continent's upper society and intellectual circles, a symbol of culture and elegance.
Most French intellectuals had no strong motivation to learn the "crude" English.
Therefore, very few French people had actually read the original A Study in Scarlet in Good Words magazine.
Their judgment could only be based on secondhand reports from England and limited translated summaries.
Thus, in various columns and salon conversations, a dominant narrative quickly formed and took hold:
Lionel Sorel's action was undoubtedly a compromise for money, or even a surrender!
A senior contributor to Revue des Deux Mondes wrote in his column:
[As is well known, British popular magazines have always spared no expense to attract readers.
Our young Mr. Sorel, conquered by the glittering pounds sterling, agreed to tailor a piece of 'British-flavored' entertainment for the British.
This may be understandable, after all, artists also need bread, but it is undoubtedly regrettable—we have lost a writer who could have produced more profound works.
And the British have gained an exciting read to discuss over tea.]
Similar views were ubiquitous.
Critics generally believed that Lionel, for the sake of generous remuneration, had abandoned the pursuit of art and instead created a popular novel catering to mass taste.
After all, a "detective novel"—just hearing the name suggested it was primarily about suspense and sensationalism; how could it possibly bother with profound expression?
They believed that Lionel was beginning to waste his talent and might just slide into becoming another Alexandre Dumas.
Of course, there were dissenting voices, but they were so faint they were almost drowned out.
A few French critics or scholars proficient in English privately expressed starkly different opinions.
A Sorbonne professor, at a gathering, excitedly retorted:
"You are wrong, completely wrong!
I have carefully read the first two installments of A Study in Scarlet, and it is by no means a vulgar work merely stimulating the senses!
This 'Sherlock Holmes's 'deductive method' is imbued with a scientific rational spirit.
Lionel's depiction of London society is meticulously detailed, and the narrative structure and character development far exceed ordinary detective stories.
This is also a masterpiece, a work capable of redefining the detective novel genre!"
However, such voices were often dismissed as exaggerations and failed to overturn the mainstream media's prejudice.
Meanwhile, Maupassant, Zola, and others who had seen the manuscript maintained an unusual silence at Lionel's special request.
Even when pressed by reporters, they kept tight-lipped, only vaguely stating that "Lion has his own considerations."
But this cryptic attitude only further aroused public curiosity.
What kind of novel did Lionel write that could make even Zola choose to remain silent?
Readers' emotions were more direct.
Whether it was the middle-class ladies and young women deeply moved by The Benjamin Botton Affair, or the ordinary citizens in small taverns sighing over Old Man Milon and The Homeland...
Upon learning that Lionel had a new work but could only read it in England, they all felt a strange sense of loss and eagerness.
"Why do we have to wait until all the British have read it before we can see Lionel's new story?"
The editorial office of Le Petit Parisien received many reader letters expressing similar questions.
"We also want to see Lionel's new work!"
Such calls began to circulate among readers.
People discussed fervently, feeling a slight dissatisfaction that Lionel was "writing for the British," yet also desperately eager to see the work for themselves as soon as possible.
Everyone wanted to see if it was truly, as some critics claimed, a product of the author's compromise with money.
Just as the discussions reached their peak, Le Petit Parisien and Modern Life magazine, almost simultaneously, published large advertisements on their front pages:
[Major Announcement
The literary miracle that conquered London arrives in Paris this autumn!
Mr. Lionel Sorel's latest masterpiece—A Study in Scarlet will be serialized in this publication starting this September!
Let us witness a true masterpiece together! Stay tuned!]
This advertisement, far from settling the debate, only intensified the atmosphere.
Supporters were overjoyed and couldn't wait; skeptics rolled up their sleeves, ready to find fault.
The entire Parisian cultural circle and readership turned their gaze to September, awaiting Lionel's final answer.
——————
August in Rome was fiercely sunny, heating the walls to a scorching degree, with even the cobblestone streets reflecting dazzling white light.
However, the heat in Rome was dry and pure, distinctly different from the stifling, putrid heat of Paris.
If one didn't have to go out in the afternoon, the temperatures at other times were quite bearable.
Lionel, dressed in a lightweight linen suit and wearing a straw hat, stood by the Tiber River, gazing at the enormous dome of St. Peter's Basilica across the way.
The dome's silhouette was exceptionally solemn against the clear blue sky, a testament to Michelangelo's genius and the supreme symbol of the Catholic world.
A priest in a black robe beside him smiled and said,
"Mr. Sorel, have you seen enough of the scenery? His Holiness is waiting for you!"
(End of chapter)