[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

After leaving the dock, Mary originally planned to stop a carriage and go directly to the "Seashore Magazine" magazine office, but after another thought, she wrote and drew directly on the typed manuscript, which was convenient to change, and it would be a waste of time to read.

So Mary went home and retyped the last few revised pages. After the integration was completed, she entrusted someone to the editor-in-chief of Hall.

The editor-in-chief sent a telegram to Serpentine Street in the afternoon when he got the new serial: [Come quickly tomorrow. ]

Mary arrived the next day as promised.

After the revelation of Philip Luther's true identity, Hall's previous secretary had been fired.The newcomer was a boy, and he showed curiosity after hearing Mary's self-introduction.While politely asking her to wait a moment, he seized every opportunity to secretly look at the author who was on the cusp not long ago.

Although he knew that he had no malicious intentions, the overly straightforward eyes still made Mary feel uncomfortable.She put on her trademark smirk: "Am I pretty?"

Secretary: "Uh...yes, sorry!"

The young man scratched his hair in embarrassment. Seeing that Mary was not angry, he mustered up the courage to speak: "Luther...Miss Mary, please don't take it to your heart. Something happened that implicated you before, and now we are like you. Such new employees have to sign a non-disclosure agreement when they join the job. I'm just curious that such a big mess happened, and I hope I didn't offend you."

No offense, but Editor-in-Chief Hall's action was really quick.Mary just raised her mouth, but he immediately made out the confidentiality agreement in the industry.

But it should be.

Whether it is to prevent vicious competition among peers, or to protect the rights and interests of magazines and contributors, even if Mary doesn't mention it, things like confidentiality contracts will become more and more perfect.

"It's okay," Mary smiled genuinely, "I won't blame you."

The young secretary let out a sigh of relief. He wanted to say something more, and then the door of the editor-in-chief's office opened.

"Miss Mary."

Editor-in-chief Hall was still so friendly and accommodating, he waved to Mary: "Now you can come in."

When Mary walked into the office, before she sat down, the editor-in-chief said cheerfully: "Thanks to you, now PT Barnum is preparing for a world tour with great fanfare, and a detailed account of the Illuminati case is published in the magazine. Sales have doubled several times in a few months, and advertising and investment are more than ever."

Mary: "It's all thanks to Barnum and Mr. Holmes. I just wanted to join in the fun."

Editor-in-Chief Hall: "Won't it be The Shore Magazine? I just hope this craze translates into some sort of lasting sales, if only a fraction."

This is true.

However, Mary felt that the popularity of the news and the ability to hype were limited, and it was impossible to convert all of them into lasting fame, but one tenth or one percent was still possible.There are no marketing methods in this era. Once successful, it will be several steps ahead of others.

"I believe in your ability and vision," Mary said, "you will definitely be able to find better manuscripts for the magazine."

"It's up to you and me to work together, Miss Mary."

As he said that, the editor-in-chief Hall took out the manuscript that Mary asked someone to bring over yesterday.

"Although you respect my opinion, I don't like to interfere too much with the author's creative thinking," said the editor-in-chief, "so I didn't express my opinion when you mentioned the outline of the story. But after reading the finished manuscript, There is a question I would like to ask you, Miss Mary."

Mary raised an eyebrow.

Editor-in-Chief Hall's attitude was serious, but his tone was still kind, which made Mary wonder for a while whether he didn't like the new series, or if he was really just curious.

"Please," Mary said in an even-handed manner, "we have cooperated many times, sir, there is no creative issue between you and me that we cannot discuss."

"After "The King of Carnival" and its identity were made public," Editor-in-Chief Hall smiled, "Did you design the villain this time as a woman, did you do it on purpose?"

"……no."

Mary was a little surprised: "Is this what you want to ask, editor-in-chief?"

Editor Hall: "Of course."

Ok.

Thinking about it carefully, the address of "Philip Luther" was not disclosed at that time, but it was a very wise thing to let readers send letters to the magazine and be collected by the editor-in-chief of Hall.After being selected by the staff of the magazine, the feedback after the end of "The King of Carnival" basically did not involve the issue of Mary's gender.But you can guess it by moving your toes. There will certainly be no shortage of insults and accusations against Mary for "pretending to be a man", "drawing the case" and "grabbing the crowd".

At this juncture, Mary also wants to write about a woman whose IQ is comparable to that of Philip Luther, and who has almost all the banks and policemen in the world under her control, which is quite retaliatory and provocative.

But this female villain really didn't just do it for the sake of provocation.

"When I decided on the idea of ​​the story," Mary said, "Blackwood hadn't returned to London. Before, a tabloid reporter analyzed Philip Luther as several retired police detectives. I had no material and inspiration at the time, so I went to visit two detectives. I was inspired by the love story of one of the detectives, Rudolph Button, and his wife."

"love story?"

Editor-in-Chief Hall was stunned, and then realized: "Didn't you use the love story of Inspector Patton into the story?"

Mary smiled triumphantly: "After he and his wife agreed, don't worry."

I thought about everything!Editor-in-Chief Hall can’t help but laugh: Although Mary Bennet is a humble and polite author, you don’t need to meet her, just look at the style of her works to draw the conclusion that this lady is quite thoughtful.And an author with ideas will not waver in his creative thinking.

Therefore, when editor-in-chief Hall communicated with Mary, even if she took the initiative to explain her story or even sent an outline, the editor-in-chief never commented on Mary’s core design, but tried her best to help from the market, reader feedback, and other aspects .

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't ask any more," said Editor-in-Chief Hall. "You don't seem to expect me to mention this question."

"I was really surprised."

Mary did not hide her thoughts: "Gender is not the reason for a person to be good or evil. You have seen more than I do, sir. You should know what a person can do once he is evil. Mr. Holmes once said that he saw She is the most beautiful and charming lady I have ever lived, and even poisoned and killed her own flesh and blood in order to defraud insurance money. The female villain in my story is more humane than the woman who eats tiger poison."

"I don't question humanity," said editor-in-chief Hall. "I worry about someone accusing you."

Mary laughed dryly.

Yes, it's no wonder that Editor-in-Chief Hall specifically named this incident.It is indeed a bit provocative to publish such a story at this juncture.If it is not done well, it may cause public opinion to retaliate, so that "Philip Luther" who finally became a victim because of the Illuminati case—that is, Mary herself, really became the target of public criticism because of her gender.

But there will always be blame.

"The people who accuse me don't accuse me of writing about smart, vicious women," Mary said calmly. "They accuse me of my existence. I cannot change my gender, and I don't want to be Show weakness. So let them blame."

What's more, it's just a charming and intelligent female fraudster!If Mary really wanted to provoke the public, she might as well just copy one of Philip Luther's archetypes, the villain in the British drama "Luther": a serial killer who is more ruthless than the serial killer Edmund in "Serial Killer Chess Game", More cruel, outright anti-social, beautiful and cruel female murderers can definitely step on the bottom line of Victorian people's acceptance.

Of course, Mary also thought about it, she would not do this.The motivation for creation is to express my own views and describe the world in my heart, not to fight against others.

After receiving such a response from Mary, the editor-in-chief of Hall was naturally not worried.

Among other things, Mary Bennet is definitely one of the authors who makes the editor-in-chief Hall feel more at ease when it comes to the response to public opinion. It is not uncommon for authors to be affected by poor response or being too popular. The editor-in-chief believes that Miss Mary Definitely not one of them.

"Apart from the gender of the character," Mary asked proactively, "Is there any other problem, sir?"

"Your progress is evident."

Editor-in-Chief Hall did not hesitate to praise: "Compared with "Serial Killer Chess Game", your third story is already very smooth, Miss Mary. While the narrative is progressing, the novel ideas that are eye-catching are also It has never been interrupted. There are fraud cases every year, and it is the first time I have seen someone who dares to write "The Check Lady."

And it is true that Mr. Frank Abagnale is the only one in the world.

The story of the famous fraudster is so legendary that it has been turned into countless movies and TV shows.The real Frank, under the guise of a pilot, not only justifiably flew the plane without a license, but also forged United Airlines checks and handed out a lot of checks.There were no airlines and female pilots in the nineteenth century, but the checks of this era were full of loopholes for Mary from the future.

Mary just slightly changed the wonderful resume of Mr. Frank Abagnale, and created a young widow, Ms. Grace Abagnale, with long light blond hair and a pure and decent appearance.

Not long after Philip Luther returned from France, his colleague from earlier years, Mr. Director, who is now sitting in a high position in Scotland, came to his door, saying that there was a fraud case and wanted him to analyze the situation.

In "The Check Lady," Lady Grace travels throughout Britain and America, not by plane but by ship.The method she used to defraud was not to pretend to be an employee of a famous company. In this era when there were no computers, no Internet, and customs clearance certificates and identity certificates for going out were still paper products, there was an identity that was very suitable for Ms. Grace—that It is the wives of businessmen, diplomats, or other men who are out and about all the year round.

Holding a fake check that is almost seamlessly forged, with a harmless face and sincere eyes like an angel, coupled with superb social skills and a cunning mind, Grace walked back and forth across the United Kingdom and the United States, relying on empty hands to spend money. Lived a life of luxury for almost a whole year.

Especially in the nineteenth century, banks were not connected to the Internet, and various private banks and accounting systems were not perfect.There is no Mr. Mycroft Holmes in Philip Luther's world, and it is even more difficult to track down.

After Luther got the case, he also studied it for a while, and then roughly analyzed the common points of several victims, and came to the conclusion that the liar was probably a woman.

After that, it was a tug-of-war between you chasing after me.

Philip Luther is not Sherlock Holmes. Although he is smart, he is far from magical.But even so, readers who hate Mary Bennet no matter how much they hate have to admit that in the first two stories, Inspector Luther, who has a straightforward style and sharp words, is quite a tough guy and is a likable character.His strength is impressive, and his helplessness towards Pluto is a little cute. The two stories of "Serial Killer Chess Game" and "King of Carnival" have established readers' trust in Philip Luther—he always meets Troublesome, but sure to beat your opponent.

However, when facing Ms. Grace, in the first few confrontations, Luther himself always made a bad move. He first let her run away, and then she made a move, and finally took advantage of Grace's behavior loopholes to catch her. stopped her.If neither Edmond nor the simple-minded Italian gang were opponents, Ms. Grace could be said to be Luther's real and powerful enemy.

More importantly, Ms. Grace defrauded a huge amount of money and played tricks on the police and banking systems of the United Kingdom and the United States. Although she did not kill anyone, she also behaved badly. Indispensable.

However, her skills are so superb that even the government and Scotland Yard cannot help admiring her.In the end, the U.S. government reached an agreement with her, and asked her to improve the anti-counterfeiting details of the checks, track down other fraudsters, and use credit to cover the crime.

That is to say, not only did Philip Luther fail to defeat Ms. Grace, but he became Ms. Grace's colleague in the end. It must be said that Grace, who was recruited, still had a public job, which was even more important than being a private detective. Luther is more respectable.

As for the details of the forged checks in the story, that part is half the credit of Hall's editorial work.Marie's life doesn't involve checks all the time, and Editor-in-Chief Hall has helped a lot in this regard.With his advice and guidance, Mary believed that the plot aspect of forged checks could not go wrong.

Although all the stories come from real people, it is understandable that the editor-in-chief Hall began to suspect that Mary was deliberately provoking the public when they were told at the end of the nineteenth century.

"It's already been commented that you've been inspired to write a man among men like Philip Luther as a bachelorette," jokes Editor-in-Chief Hall. With the addition of a female rival, I really want to see the reaction of those critics now."

Mary hooked her lips noncommittally.

"I care more about your attitude, sir, than about the critic," said Mary, "and it seems to me... that you don't seem to like the story of "The Lady with a Check."

The previous two stories were equally bold, but the editor-in-chief of Hall has always said one thing, instead of euphemistically mentioning that he has a problem like now.The more euphemistic it is, the more it proves that Editor-in-Chief Hall has a different opinion.

Mary's sharpness was exchanged for a polite smile from Editor-in-Chief Hall.

“It’s not that I don’t like it,” he said, “but I still prefer The King of Carnival compared to all three Philip Luther stories put together.”

This Mary is not surprising, the editor-in-chief has already said it.

"But in my opinion," Mr. Editor-in-Chief explained, "there are similarities between the two stories of "The King of Carnival" and "The Lady with a Check". In the murder case, there is no confrontation with the devil, and the reasoning part is omitted, even if there are also realistic factors involved, it is not so direct."

Mary nodded.

"As for the story of a detective," continues Editor Hall, "The King of Carnival and The Check Lady are wonderfully surreal and equally relevant, but the suspense factor is greatly diminished. If there is suspense in "The King of Carnival" because of Pluto's mystification, then "The Check Lady", if the bold deeds and detailed characterization of the characters are discarded, it will be a down-to-earth investigation of the case."

"So?" Mary asked.

"So," Editor-in-Chief Hall continued to explain, "If possible, Miss Mary, I suggest that you choose material with a more suspenseful atmosphere for your next story. Although the police actually solve the case, compared to Mr. Holmes's magical reasoning, More like Philip Rudd's back and forth in "The Lady with a Check". But there's a reason why gothic fiction is so popular. Readers love stories full of surprise and suspense. Philip Rudd's stories don't focus on Puzzle solving, if written well, can certainly create a new genre, but I think you have the ability to take care of both sides - if you are a writer who doesn't care about readers, I will never say these things. But I believe that at that time you chose The creation of "The King of Carnival" must have ambition."

Mary doesn't deny this.

At the same time, she is also very grateful to editor-in-chief Yu Hall for thinking highly of herself.Having said so much, the intention of the editor-in-chief is simple: it is valuable to choose novel and bold stories and materials, but don't go astray just for novelty.If you have the ability, it is best to take care of both sides.

In particular, the reasoning element in Mary's story is not impeccable, and the loopholes in "Serial Killer Chess Game" have been criticized by Sherlock Holmes himself.

The reason for creating "The King of Carnival" is not only the consideration of "spotting", but also some meanings of making use of strengths and avoiding weaknesses.

But if the shortcomings are not corrected, they will remain shortcomings forever.

How to correct it?Nature is to challenge it.

Besides, Mary has more or less participated in the follow-up investigation of the two cases. Among other things, her investigation experience is completely different from that of herself who created "Serial Killer Chess Game" empty-handed.Might as well try again.

So Mary humbly accepted the editor-in-chief Hall's suggestion, and she nodded: "I will think about it carefully."

Seeing that she was still serious, the editor-in-chief Hall put down the manuscript in his hand with satisfaction: "However, my personal opinion will not affect the quality of your work, Miss. It is worthwhile to delay the completion of "The Check Lady" by a month." .Not to mention anything else, but the forged check alone is enough to attract the bank's attention."

Mary: "It's your credit, Mr. Editor."

Editor-in-Chief Hall: "Thank you."

His words paused, and then he changed into an approving tone: "However, in the story of "The Check Lady", I must admit that you handled it very skillfully."

Mary couldn't help being curious: "What is it?"