Rimbaud's girl

On Christmas Eve, Gabriel put down the Christmas gift for her before leaving, and she also gave him the Christmas gift she had prepared long ago.He unwrapped the wrapping paper in a hurry and was very satisfied with the gift.

It is pitiful to say that because Mrs. Oran can't embroider, he has never used a handkerchief embroidered with his initials. Now, he is also a man who can proudly show others the gift from his girlfriend. He is happy and proud.

Vitaly seriously suspected that he was talking nonsense, but who doesn't like to listen to good words, so she took it seriously in her heart.

Gabriel gave her a small emerald ring, which she said was in Mrs. Oran's jewelry box, and she had worn it as a girl.This time because of Vitaly's visit to London, Mrs. Oran picked out some jewelry for him.He honestly said that although his mother didn't say that he could give away these jewelry, it was his stuff after giving it to him, and he could give it to anyone he wanted.

She asked what jewelry was given to him, and the next day he made a list and asked someone to give it to her, and gave her a skylark brooch with broken gems.She happily accepted the brooch, put away the list, and then drew a sketch of an emerald ring on her left hand, and gave it to him when he came next time.

On the day they left England, Gabriel and Arthur sent Rimbaud and her daughter to Dover Dock.

Arthur was okay, but Gabriel almost wanted to go to France with him.Mrs. Rimbaud was by his side. He couldn't make any small moves with Vitaly, and he didn't like to kiss in public in this era. In the end, he could only kiss the back of her hand and remind her in a low voice to write to him when he arrived in Rouen. .

Vitaly was also quite reluctant to leave, but she was afraid that Mrs. Rimbaud would scold her, so she could only express it calmly and dignifiedly, and don't do such boring and crooked things.

The return journey did not go from Charleville, but went directly from Calais to Rouen, and returned to the Crosva Manor.

Chapter8

December 1874, 12, Oxford, Raven Tavern.

A young man dressed flamboyantly and wearing an oversized and exaggerated satin bow tie said in a very flat tone: "I admit that some sentences are not bad, but most of them are pretentious, contrived, and boring. Take any one Farmer, give him a bunch of words, and he can write much better poetry than this."

"It's really not that good." Someone said cautiously.

"It's terrible!" someone yelled.

This small group of "oddly dressed" young men occupied the largest table in the tavern, on which there were already some bottles, and everyone had at least two glasses of absinthe.After drinking too much, he began to talk nonsense, pointing out current abuses, including evaluating other people's poems and essays.

Oscar Wilde entered Magdalen College, Oxford University in the fall.He was an Irishman, a former student of Trinity College Dublin, from a wealthy family, his father was a doctor, and he was a member of the aristocracy since he was made a "Sir" a few years ago.

But this new semester, the most prominent student of Magdalen College is not the son of the upstart Irish, nor the young master of the old England aristocrat, but a handsome young man from a small town on the French border.

In March this year, Arthur Rimbaud's collection of poems "A Season in Hell" was published in Paris, France, with the first printing of 3 copies.

This collection of poems was a big hit when it first appeared in bookstores, with letterpress printing on the cover, gold stamping on the title, and a very new accessory: a girdle.Both sides of the girdle are printed with very exaggerated slogans, and the back cover also lists a row of recommendations from well-known writers:

The surging passion of teenagers comes alive on paper——Victor Hugo.

Wonderful words, just like being on the scene-Lecomte de Lisle.

The stars fall on the earth—Sully Prudhomme.

Regarding this new form of marketing, the French people all said: I have never seen it before, it is too brainwashing.

All of a sudden, Paris paper expensive, whether it is a small group of Parnassians, or other poets who stick to romanticism, as well as readers have expressed interest in this thin collection of poems.Parisians follow fashion for fear of not being fashionable enough, and if someone asks about the new poet and you don't know, you may be a bit behind the times;

Cohorts of poets started A Season in Hell, and newspapers published various interpretations, both positive and negative, of these verses of teenage exuberance.

In less than a month, 1 volumes of poetry collections were sold out.This is a very good sales volume for a collection of poems.Even across the Channel in London, the French aristocrats in exile began to discuss Arthur Rimbaud and his collection of poems.

He was young, handsome, intelligent, of very low birth, and yet very interesting, the sort of man who would make very good company, without affecting or detrimental to their station, and would make them very fashionable.

Arthur soon had a new sponsor who provided him with four years of university living expenses; the applicant who had published a collection of poems successfully entered Oxford University, and he chose Magdalen College, which was willing to give him a scholarship.

Thus, Arthur Rimbaud and Oscar Wilde became classmates.

Oscar Wilde said to this classmate's poetry collection: vulgar, pompous, and philistine!

But the binding of the collection of poems is very good, it is very eye-catching in the bookstore, and the illustrations inside are also very tasteful. Although the printing is not sophisticated because it is a print, when the illustration exhibition "A Season of Hell" was exhibited in Oxford in October, he still I made a special trip to see the illustration exhibition.

The illustration exhibitions were exhibited in Paris, London, and Oxford. Vitaly found generous patrons and carefully planned and held the art exhibitions in three cities. The exhibition periods were 4 days in Paris, 3 days in London, and 2 days in Oxford.

At the exhibition, Wilde noticed Rimbaud's sister, a petite and beautiful girl.

For him, the "beauty" of women is the easiest to discover. His aesthetic concept makes him only pay attention to those beautiful people. The Rimbaud brothers and sisters are very in line with his aesthetics: weak, beautiful, and interesting; his brother may be slightly inferior The reason is that he dresses in a serious manner; his younger sister is a future artist who studies painting, and the color matching of the clothes is very in line with his aesthetics. It can be said that he is the only 16-year-old girl who survived his critical eyes.

阿瑟·兰波个子不高，只有5英尺7英寸；维塔丽·兰波不到5英尺4英寸；而王尔德有6英尺3英寸高，这使得他几乎比阿瑟高了一个头。

Such a tall young man, dressed like a peacock, is very eye-catching in the exhibition hall.

Soon, someone introduced the Rimbaud brothers and sisters to Wilde.

Since Wilde was just an ordinary Oxford student at this time, Vitaly exchanged a few words with him very calmly, without expressing too much curiosity or interest.

Classmate Rimbaud has a clever younger sister who handles publishing affairs for him. Li doesn't know how many, but his "fame" has really skyrocketed. Half of the students and professors at Oxford University know this foreign student.

As a foreign student born in poverty, Rimbaud's life experience can be said to be quite inspirational.

However, there was also a dark cloud that followed: someone published a vitriolic article in a Paris newspaper, pointing out that the new favorite of the poetry world had previously had an indescribable physical relationship with the Parnasian poet Paul Verlaine. , Verlaine is still imprisoned in a prison in Upper Normandy.

Arthur's name of "Genius Poet" was followed by a disreputable relationship between a man and a man, which strangely made him even more famous.

Because of this, Arthur was ridiculed quite a bit in the academy, and was almost beaten up severely.

Gabriel's people rescued Arthur, and Gabriel immediately talked about it in a later letter, saying that probably only Arthur's engagement can dispel this dangerous homosexual rumor.

The truth is that, yes, only engagement can eliminate such rumors the fastest, but in a short while, where can I find a girl who is willing to get engaged quickly?

So she decided to publish Arthur's second collection of poems, Colored Pictures, as soon as possible.

When an event attracts public attention, but it cannot be explained by refuting rumors, the best way is not to continue to dwell on this issue, but to create another hot spot to divert attention.

The publisher didn't want to publish another book of poetry in less than a year, and felt that there should be at least a two-year gap.Vitaly disagreed, saying that there may be a time gap between the publication of a collection of poems by ordinary literati, because the next one has not been written at all. Since Arthur has finished writing "Colorful Pictures", why is it still pressed?Doesn't make sense at all, okay?Not only must a new collection of poems be published quickly, but also a new newspaper controversy must be created to divert the public's attention to the collection of poems and Arthur's literary creation.

Not even a new collection of poetry can divert the gossip crowd's attention from celebrity sexual relationships, and other hot spots, such as Arthur's nonfiction report on the life of the emperor's widow and heir in England, as long as you find a newspaper that dares to publish the article That's fine.Paris newspapers dare not publish it, but it can also be published in English newspapers in London.The common people are always interested in royal life, no matter what the era.

While Wilde was chatting with his friends in the tavern, on another street a few streets away, the House of the Blue Bird.

It was a modest two-storey wooden building that was leased to Gabriel Oran, a student at Oxford University College (UyCollege).

Vitaly didn't come to Oxford as he had planned, and Arthur made it clear to him not to think about it until they got engaged.Later, he also realized that if they were not engaged, it was really not suitable for them to live under the same roof, even with Arthur around.If he wanted to be engaged and married to her in the future, he had to take her reputation into consideration.Mrs. Orland probably didn't mind her daughter-in-law's low birth, but if there were any bad rumors, the matter would be over.

Gabriel was very concerned about the publication of Arthur's collection of poems. Rimbaud's family produced a poet, which was actually equivalent to raising his class. He was no longer a "poor and silent" ordinary person, and Vitaly was no longer a An ordinary beautiful girl, but a "sister of a famous poet".

In August, he turned 8.His father had a special talk with him, saying that he hoped he could consider getting engaged after graduation, if he still liked the girls from the Rimbauds; Vitaly needed to come to London to learn social etiquette, although the Oran family did not Gabriel will become the fifth Baron of Oran in the future, but Vitaly must have the necessary knowledge to become a baroness;

They will meet with Vitaly before the engagement, but it should not be too early, about half a year before the engagement, so that there will be enough time for Vitaly to learn etiquette and so on.

Before, Gabriel was worried that his parents might think that Vitaly was of too low a family background, and might "persuade" Vitaly to leave like Mr. Duval in "La Traviata". Maybe she will take him to elope.He was even looking forward to it! -->>

"Won't your parents care that she is too low-born?" Ou Ren casually flipped through "A Season in Hell", but looked at the oil painting of Vitaly's portrait hanging on the wall.

There are many famous portrait painters in Britain and France. When Vitaly came to England in October, Gabriel asked someone to paint a portrait of her and sent it home to hang in his room.The Oran couple had only seen black-and-white photos of Vitaly before, and the colorful oil painting portraits gave them a more direct impression.

The portrait in the House of the Blue Bird is the work of a French painter who had previously painted Eugene as a child and was one of the royal portrait painters.

"Maybe we care, but we're not French nobles anymore."

The background of the portrait is a white camellia tree. Vitaly is wearing a bright yellow satin dress with a very light lavender purple tulle shawl on her shoulders, revealing her fair arms and clean neck, her plump breasts are half covered, Sitting on a wicker chair, a golden Persian cat with a lazy expression was leaning on her lap; her hair was thick, darker golden brown, braided in a fluffy braid, and hung on her shoulders; The painter perfectly expressed her bright blue eyes, small straight nose bridge, rosy lips, and that kind of pure and beautiful girlish temperament.

In terms of appearance alone, Vitaly is impeccable, has a pleasing beauty, looks gentle and elegant; the face with baby fat is still immature, but it is already an undisputed beauty.

Eugene also admitted that she was beautiful, the kind of beauty that Queen Eugenie would also like.The queen's aesthetics is very good. When she was in the Paris court, the female servants, officials, and female companions around the queen were all beauties. Non-beauties could not enter the queen's escort circle, nor were they eligible to become her "friends".

The queen herself is also recognized as a great beauty. The two most beautiful queens in the European court are Eugenie of the French Empire and Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two queens are often compared by the European people. Even the crown princes of the two countries It is also often used for comparison.

However, now, losing the crown prince of the country is worthless.

Eugene tried not to think about it.

His status is noble, but he has no territory. In fact, his status is embarrassing, including the choice of his future wife; from his status, he can only choose a girl with the title of "Princess", and he doesn't even have any choice; Oran doesn't have any worries in this regard, he can choose a girl from a lower family background that he likes, and he is quite envious of Oran in many cases.

Princess Beatrice has a noble status, but in the eyes of an 18-year-old boy, she can only be described as "dignified and delicate", far from being "beautiful".Queen Victoria was not considered beautiful when she was young, and many of her children were just ordinary-looking; while Eugene's mother was famous for her beauty, which made him feel "unreconciled".

Gabriel didn't mind the Crown Prince staring at Vitaly's portrait non-stop. As a man, his vanity was so strong that it overshadowed everything else. The little girlfriend was a little beauty praised by everyone, of course it made him very proud.Vitaly was just a thin and wild girl in the countryside of Charleville back then, and she was very limited in beauty, but I had a good vision, and I could tell right away that she would become a beauty in the future.

"Does she still eat a lot?" Ou Ren asked him in an intimate and disgusted tone.Vitaly had a good appetite, and they had two dinners together, of course with many people, and Vitaly ate more than the other girls.

"She still has such a good appetite."

"She's getting a little fat."

"You can't say this in front of her. Be careful that she will make your face ugly with another sentence. Besides, I don't think she is fat. "

Vitaly's love for food is beyond words. I don't know if it was during the Franco-Prussian War that she was deeply afraid of not being able to eat enough. She believes in eating less and more meals. She eats 4 meals a day, and eats 8 or 9 each time. The other girls they know usually only eat 7 cents full, so they always maintain a thin body.Vitaly is actually a bit round, just look at her round face and fleshy arms.

However, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.Since she began to develop, her breasts have become more and more plump day by day, and her figure is getting better and better visible to the naked eye. It is a female figure, no longer the flat figure of a little girl.

Eugene recalled that Vitaly never thought of him as the crown prince, and he was very impressed with her when he spoke directly.In her eyes, he was equal to Gabriel and Arthur, and there was no difference in status or class.She treats them equally, which is actually nice.

He put down the collection of poems in his hand, "What about her own, when will it be published?"

"Soon, next year—about March or April."

"French?"

"French."

"Have you read it? What's the story?"

"No, she was only seen by Arthur and the publisher, oh, Flaubert and Zola should have seen it too."

"When will she come to Oxford again? Or London?"

"Christmas will not come, and she will stay with Flaubert at Croswald."

"Or you could invite Flaubert to England."

"She has other things to do."

"whats the matter?"

"not sure."

"Is it something to do with the Dutchman?"

Gabriel was alert, "Have you gone to inquire about her?"

"There is no need to inquire specifically," Eugene walked to Vitaly's portrait and looked at it carefully. "Someone wrote to me from Paris and mentioned her."

hateful!

He wasn't worried that Eugene would rob Vitaly from him, because the identity of the crown prince was there, he could not marry Vitaly, and Vitaly would never become the mistress of the crown prince.But that Dutchman... damn it!He did not expect that Vincent van Gogh was transferred to the Paris company by Goupil. Van Gogh had worked in Goupil's Paris company for half a year, and he resigned not long ago. He and Vitaly were messing around.

Château de Croisis, Rouen, Haute-Normandy.

Vitaly put down her pen.

Hands are sore. In the age without typewriters, everything was written by hand. It was still very tiring to copy the manuscript from beginning to end.

Different from the mentor Flaubert's attitude of striving for perfection, repeatedly deleting and revising, and not showing it until he is super satisfied, the Rimbaud brothers and sisters all have the kind of writing style that first prepares the draft, and basically does not make major changes when the paper is dropped. Most of them are adjusting the order of paragraphs and replacing inappropriate words when transcribing.

Arthur's semi-autobiography was completed only last month, and it just so happened that she also finished writing the ending of her debut novel after returning from England.

She showed the first half of the book to the publisher, and to Arthur in October.Arthur blew rainbow farts wildly, boasting that her writing was very good, but he still refused to let her see his own.

Hmph, not rare!Don't you still have to show her to read after finishing writing?

After finishing writing, I was also very satisfied, so I spent half a month transcribing it carefully.Because there is no typewriter or copier, after handing it over to the publisher, the publisher will ask the staff to copy it again in printed characters, send the copied manuscript to the printing factory, and the typesetting workers will print out the typesetting according to the copied manuscript, and the number of pages will be typed How many editions; first, a few copies should be printed for trial printing, and then handed over to the printing factory or publisher for proofreading. After confirming that there are no typos, the printing will officially start.

The speed of official printing is very fast. Now it is the era of steam printing machines. A book of 3 can be printed in about 2 weeks; skilled workers can bind more than 10 books a day, plus the time to wait for the glue to dry, it will be finished in less than a month. factory.

It is common for a collection of poems to sell 1 copies by one author, and it is definitely a bestseller if it can sell more than 5000 copies. Mr. Alfonso, the publisher of "A Season in Hell", couldn't wait to sign a publishing contract with her, but cautiously only agreed on the first printing run of 1 copies.

It doesn't matter, in fact, she doesn't care much about the original number, and it can be reprinted if it sells well.

A variety of promotional methods are also necessary. Before I asked someone to get a recommendation signed by Hugo, it is not a problem to recommend a dozen celebrities; find someone to write an article to blow rainbow farts in the newspaper, which is similar to the Internet promotion of later generations. It's almost the same, and the effect is good, after all, there is no Internet in this era.Also because printing is not so easy and the printing cost is relatively high, piracy is rare.

Both Flaubert and Zola said that if her first book sold a basic volume, she would get 1 franc for each copy sold, and if she sold 5000 copies, her income would be between 5000 francs and 8000 francs. Time, that is overnight riches!

— Zola has not yet sold more than 5000 francs.

Vitaly shrewdly signed a staged manuscript fee with Mr. Alfonso. The one-time fixed manuscript fee will be paid for less than 3000 copies. Plus royalties.

作者有话要说：*5英尺7英寸是170cm，一美的身高；6英尺3英寸是192cm，大本的身高。5英尺4英寸是162cm，斯嘉丽约翰逊是160cm，维塔丽的身高不会增加了，就是160，不到5英尺4英寸。

*In December 1874, Mrs. Rimbaud was 12 years old, Queen Eugenie was 49 years old, Queen Elizabeth (Princess Sissi) was 48 years old; Crown Prince Eugene was 37 years old, Crown Prince Rudolph, Sissi’s son, was 18 years old, and Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter Bea Princess Triss is 16 years old; Van Gogh is 17 years old, Wilde is 21 years old; Arthur Rimbaud is 20 years old, Vitaly is 20 years old, and Gabriel is 16 years old.

*If Eugène hadn't died in Zulu, he would probably have married Princess Beatrice. Queen Victoria didn't want her youngest daughter to marry abroad; the princess didn't get married until she was 28, which is quite late for royal princesses.Ou Ren's death is still a conspiracy theory, because the death is too strange.

*Oscar Wilde was born on October 1854, 10, only 16 days older than Arthur.Wilde should be similar to Verlaine, also bisexual, he is married and has two sons.Another of Wilde's lovers, Robert Ross, who fled England, suggested that Wilde also flee to France, but he did not.He was later sentenced to two years in prison, and the high legal fees directly led to his bankruptcy; after he was released from prison, he could not stay in the UK and went to France. He died at the age of 4 and was buried in the suburbs of Paris. Père Lachaise Cemetery.

After Wilde was imprisoned, his wife took away their two sons and changed their surname to Holnd.

* Zola did not get 1876 francs in royalties until the publication of "The Brasserie" in 9000, and became rich overnight.Before that, his salary as a clerk in a bookstore was 100 francs a month.

Hugo's "Notre Dame de Paris" sold for 3 francs, and the publisher paid him 5000 francs in advance.

*Checking the manuscript fees of the 19th-century literary giants made me laugh to death, and told a lot of interesting stories about the bigwigs pouring water into the number of words to earn more manuscript fees.