[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

Two months ago, Mr. Bingley and Fred Hall met at an exposition, and they had a pleasant conversation.

Afterwards, Mr. Bingley invited Editor-in-Chief Hall to be a guest and met Miss Bingley.

When Miss Bingley heard that Fred Hall was the editor-in-chief of "Beach Magazine", and the magazine was accepting novel submissions at this time, Miss Bingley couldn't help but think of Miss Mary Bennet and her weird-sounding scary story.

To be honest, Miss Bingley did not forget about Mary, but when she thought of her mistaking her as a rival in love at Netherfield Manor... she wanted to find a crack in the ground to sneak in.

She targeted her everywhere, but Mary Bennet either deftly resolved it, or took the opportunity to show it well.At that time, Miss Bingley was very upset about this for a long time, and she also felt that this unmarried girl with a low dowry, low status, and only a standard of beauty was particularly displeasing to the eyes.

But before leaving, she showed that she had no interest in Mr. Darcy at all.

After being shocked, Miss Bingley also understood that not only did Mary Bennet not like Darcy, but the "she" Darcy said that he liked was not the ugly Mary at all, but her sister Elizabeth Bennet!

But Mary still had an eager expression, asking her to write a letter, and told herself all about her curiosity and admiration for that detective, Sherlock Holmes.

She was honest with each other, but she was thinking about how to make her look ugly-what kind of lady is this!

Caroline Bentley felt guilty and embarrassed at the thought of her small belly, let alone writing to Mary.

So when Mr. Bingley met Fred Hall, the editor-in-chief of "Beach Magazine", Miss Bingley subconsciously thought of Mary and her story, after thinking about it, she told the editor-in-chief the inspiration Mary told at that time.

It is not accurate to say that it is a sincere recommendation, but at least helping Mary can make Miss Bingley feel better after suffering from embarrassment.

But now Mr. Fred Hall had a detailed conversation with Mary in person, and after a few words, both of them were keenly aware of a very serious problem.

Mary's current story does not match the outline grasped by the chief editor Hall.

One reason is that Miss Bingley herself didn't like the outline of Mary's story, and her retelling was somewhat subjective, and she couldn't retell it all due to memory omissions.

Secondly, Mary has already revised several versions, and the case in the final draft is very different from the idea of ​​telling at the beginning.

The editor-in-chief Fred Hall is very experienced. When he heard that he had a different idea, he immediately suspended the discussion: "How about this, ma'am, if you are free tomorrow, you can bring the manuscript to the magazine office."

"it is good."

Mary agreed without hesitation.

If nothing else, this is Seaside Magazine!

It's a pity that there is no Sir Conan Doyle in this world, and Mary has no chance to see him in person, but in the original story, the future Dr. John Watson will also contribute to the "Seaside Magazine", publishing his exploration with Mr. Holmes. case experience.

Now Mary and Sherlock Holmes are in the same London, which also means that if she is lucky enough to pass the manuscript, Mary will be Dr. Watson's colleague!

"Tomorrow afternoon, I will visit the magazine with the manuscript," Mary said with a smile, "I came here specially today because I wanted to ask Mr. Bingley about the contract theft."

"I know about it."

Editor-in-Chief Hall nodded: "Mr. Bingley also told me about this."

Is that so... It seems that the editor-in-chief is indeed someone Mr. Bingley trusts.

Seeing the flash of vigilance in Mary's eyes, the editor-in-chief Fred Hall was not angry, and the middle-aged gentleman laughed instead.

He glanced at Mr. Bingley who was having a warm conversation with Jane Bennet. As someone who had been there, Editor-in-Chief Hall couldn't help shaking his head.

"It appears," he quipped, "that Mr. Bingley has no time to attend to the theft at present."

"What, what?" Mr. Bingley turned around in surprise.

Hearing his own name and seeing the teasing look on the editor Hall's face, he immediately realized what he was talking to Mary.The young man who fell in love coughed a few times: "Regarding the theft case, there is indeed progress on my side, but I think we should wait until Mr. Holmes is present to discuss it."

Mary's eyes lit up: "Then when shall we go to Mr. Holmes?"

Mr. Bingley thought for a while: "Let's wait another day. If the case is discussed, I promise you will be there, miss."

That's good!

The sky is big and the earth is big, and love is the biggest.Mr. Bingley has been so busy lately that he finally found some free time to meet Jane.No matter how eager Mary is to find out the truth, it won't spoil her sister's time with her future brother-in-law.

Moreover, taking advantage of her free time, she could also discuss the submission of manuscripts with the editor-in-chief Hall.

In the afternoon of the second day, Mary brought the manuscript and came to the magazine office of "Seaside Magazine" as scheduled.

The secretary invited Mary to the editor-in-chief's office immediately, and it was obvious that the editor-in-chief Hall had been waiting here for a long time.With great enthusiasm he sat Mary down and took her manuscript.

When seeing the title of the novel, Editor-in-Chief Hall paused slightly: ""The Chess Game of a Serial Killer"... a serial killer?"

If this were the 21st century, Marie's novel title would be crude and thoughtless.But there is a reason why she didn't play tricks on the title of the novel.

Because the term "serial killer" appeared after the 70s, it is considered a contemporary criminal psychology term.In the Victorian period, such terms were indeed confusing.

It can be considered that Mary took advantage of her special status as a time traveler to cheat quietly.

"The title is quite attractive," Editor-in-Chief Hall finally commented, "I'm looking forward to the content."

Mary felt a little nervous.

If another traveler came to this world to read Mary's final draft, she would not connect her last effort with the real-life Campbell case.Although the murderer and the prototype of the case are still Edmund Campbell, when it was actually written, the whole story was beyond recognition.

In Mary's story, the murderer still turned himself in, but he did not confess his crime.Instead, it's a provocative gesture, waiting for the protagonist's detective to unearth everything he's done.

In this way, the behavior of the murderer turning himself in is barely in line with the analysis of serial killers in criminal psychology - some murderers like to show the victim publicly, just like signing their own name to the case, in order to show off their identity. presence.

The surrender was because the process of committing the crime was so perfect that no one discovered that the victim was murdered by him.

The murderer's "signature" has not been seen, he can't show off himself, and can't satisfy his perverted psychology

So the murderer found a famous detective, sat opposite the detective, and declared war to him: I killed a person, I have completed the first half of a case, and the second half of the investigation depends on you. up.

The detective, on the other hand, is a common image in detective novels or dramas in the 21st century: cold, decisive, smart and crisp at the same time, and even a bit rough in his behavior.He is a sentimental person, but he also has his own sensitive side.

The murderer openly questioned the authority of the law, and he accepted the challenge without saying a word.

Mary divided the entire process of solving the case into three parts. The murderer's modus operandi became more familiar each time, and when the detective traced the clues, he first found the victim when he was unfamiliar with the method at first, then when he was proficient, and finally the murderer himself. Thinking that it was invulnerable, he proudly said to the detective, "You can't find it, and your intelligence is not as good as mine." When he revealed the ultimate mystery, justice was done for the victims.

The full text is not long, about [-] words.So Editor Hall quickly finished reading.

He put down the manuscript: "This is better than I thought."

Mary immediately regained her spirits: "Really?"

The middle-aged gentleman raised his eyes to Mary and said with a smile: "When Miss Bingley told me the story, she pretended to be frightened before she could speak. I thought it would be some kind of horror story. Not going to publish this type of novel."

...It's not surprising at all.

The popular literature in Britain in the [-]th century was still Gothic novels dominated by horror and grotesques.Even the many romantic works that have been handed down to later generations have been somewhat influenced by it, so it is expected that editor-in-chief Hall must have read a lot of works of similar style during this period.

"But fortunately not."

He praised: "The story is very exciting. The criminal is extremely vicious and has a superior IQ, but the detective is always better. Not only is the game between two people not scary, but there is a sense of urgency to watch a master play chess."

These words come from the mouth of an editor-in-chief, which is already a very high evaluation.But Mary was not in a hurry to cheer. She carefully looked at the expression of Editor-in-Chief Hall, and seeing his calm expression, she understood the general idea in her heart.

"But?" Mary asked.

Editor Hall laughed out loud.

"You're a really sharp lady," he said, "but, having portrayed the criminal so vividly, I'm afraid there will be some bad repercussions, the least negative, that your story will make More people commit crimes and things like that."

Just know that.

Mary had anticipated this kind of feedback long before she wrote.Although she has tried to pay attention to this point, it is inevitable that she will not be able to control herself when she writes about passion.

"So," Mary said carefully, "do I need to revise it again?"

"No, no need."

Editor-in-Chief Hall shook his head with the manuscript: "The game between the detective and the murderer is really exciting. If the portrayal of the villain is reduced, the tension will be greatly reduced—besides, the detective still wins in the end, isn't he? "

The implication of this is...

It wasn't until this moment that Mary's heart started to pound, and she looked expectant: "So, sir, what do you mean, my manuscript can be published?"

"Of course!"

The editor-in-chief put the manuscript on the table: "I can't guarantee the response, so the initial manuscript fee can't give you much. A [-]-word novel will be published in four issues, and you can give you twelve pounds (*see note), what do you think? how?"

Twelve pounds, which is more than Mary expected!

You must know that Conan Doyle's first full-length novel "A Study in Scarlet" had a manuscript fee of only more than 20 pounds, and Mary's article was only half as long as "A Study in Scarlet". Said, is a "huge sum of money"!

"Is it really possible?"

Mary took a deep breath, forced herself to suppress her excitement and asked.

"It won't cause any trouble for the magazine, will it?"

"Britain is so big," editor-in-chief Hall joked, "if it can't even accommodate a detective story, what's the reason? If something goes wrong, the magazine society will bear it by itself, but... I don't recommend you publish novels under your real name, miss."

This Mary understands.

While writing fiction was nothing unusual for Victorian ladies – if there weren’t Jane Austen and Agatha Christie in the world, there would be other women writers.But what Mary wrote is a crime novel, and the title of a female writer may be questioned and accused for no reason. In case... just in case, something bad happens, and it may also affect the life of Mary and her family. reputation.

Editor-in-Chief Hall's suggestion was very conservative, but he also thought of Mary from the bottom of his heart.

Mary herself doesn't care about fame or not, but she has to think about her relatives.And the editor-in-chief was out of good intentions, so she couldn't refuse in person: "Well, let's use a pseudonym."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"How about just John Smith (*see note)?"

"..."

Editor Hall laughed loudly: "This is your pen name, ma'am, John Smith is too perfunctory!"

After all, he looked at the manuscript again.

"Since you choose to write with No.1," the editor suggested, "you might as well publish the work under the name of the detective in the text. Philip Luther (*see note), this name is really good, worthy of the detective's tough, A firm character."

What a great idea!

Mary did not expect this, and she was pleasantly surprised: "Maybe some readers will misunderstand because of this, these are true stories!"

"Then let them be so misunderstood," Editor-in-Chief Hall took off his glasses and said sincerely, "I'm already looking forward to the response of this work, ma'am."

The author has something to say: [A 24-word novel is published in four issues, and I can give you twelve pounds, what do you think? 】: Jiang Hua didn’t find any information about the fees paid for magazines in the Victorian period... She could only make up her own with the fees paid by various writers. Sir Conan Doyle’s first full-length novel "A Study in Scarlet" only sold for [-] pounds, so I I just pushed it according to the manuscript fee, and I think [-]% of it does not meet the realistic standards, sorry!

【"How about John Smith (*see note)?"】: The name John Smith is everywhere in English-speaking countries. I think it is basically Zhang San Li Si Wang Jianguo, and it is often used as a pseudonym, so Mary said it casually One, it was too perfunctory to be complained by the editor-in-chief.

[Philip Luther (*see note)]: Philip comes from the name of the detective in Raymond Chandler's novel "The Long Farewell", and Luther comes from the British drama "Luther". A very tough detective or police detective is arranged and combined hhh

And a girl said that Mary stole all of Watson's jobs, I laughed so hard at 2333, don't worry, Watson and Mary's businesses don't overlap too much!In fact, in Jiang Hua's original idea, "John H. Watson" was Mary's pseudonym for publishing detective stories, and both Dr. Watson and "Mrs. Watson" were written by Mary herself.But later when I wrote the outline, I changed this idea, because Jiang Hua also likes the role of Watson very much, and she couldn't bear it _(:3∠)_