The Shadow of Great Britain

768: Chapter 364: Gears and Crosses 768: Chapter 364: Gears and Crosses London, Westminster, on the streets of Wimpole Street.

The carriage swayed along, and inside, Arthur was lighting a cigar, quietly flipping through the manuscript Mrs.

Shelley had given him.

It was a translation of Homer’s Epics, imitating the style of Pope, and also the maiden work of a girl named Elizabeth.

Mrs.

Shelley’s hands were crossed on her lap, and from her slightly wrinkled white gloves, it was evident that she seemed a bit nervous.

Although the manuscript was not her own work, she could not help but worry for Elizabeth.

Perhaps laymen might think the literary circle is always filled with amicable vibes, where everyone speaks politely.

But insiders like Mrs.

Shelley deeply understood just how many pests there were in the trade, making it extremely difficult for one writer to appreciate another.

And for those new talents in the literary field, what usually awaited them were countless criticisms and sarcasms from the old seniors.

Moreover, female writers suffered far more attacks in this regard than their male counterparts.

Although after Jane Austen became famous, many people from the middle class had accepted the presence of female writers.

But those old-fashioned gentlemen still did not think writing was something women should do.

Even if women were to write, they could only pen romance stories.

If they ventured into works like Homer’s Epics, what they usually received was a barrage of scolding.

The three great poets of the Lake School, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Sosse, were staunch opponents of women stepping into the literary field, and their main platform for propagating this view was Britain’s authoritative classical literature magazine “Blackwood’s.”

The reason Mrs.

Shelley approached Arthur was precisely because she saw the incompatibility of relationships between “Blackwood’s” and “British.”

These two literary magazines with comparable circulation perfectly represented the two opposing voices in the current British literary scene.

“Blackwood’s” criticized “British” for its low taste, crude language, materialism, and leading unsocial manners.

“British” lambasted “Blackwood’s” for its obsolete thoughts, obstinately old-fashioned, sour and just a medieval zombie syndicate.

Although the current mainstream public opinion supported “Blackwood’s,” according to Mrs.

Shelley, gentlemen and ladies, though they publicly flaunt their refined taste with “Blackwood’s,” many of them privately read “British” more.

The reason was simple, because the stories in “British” were indeed more engaging to read than the grand poems and literary critiques in “Blackwood’s.”

Moreover, a portion of bold ladies who dared express their views were not afraid to publicly confess their love for “British.” Ladies from the Bluestocking Society were among the prominent representatives.

This rebellious group of female scholars greatly appreciated the deductive methods and use of chemical knowledge in Arthur’s detective novels, they also held immense interest in Darwin’s monkey taming journals in South America, and works by Dickens, Great Dumas, and Disraeli appealed to both young and old alike.

And “British” is not as “Blackwood’s” claimed, merely filled with literary works of low intellectual quality.

Heine’s poetry directly elevated their literary taste to a higher level.

Furthermore, a young poet named Tennyson occasionally produced quite impressive poetic works.

Perhaps “Blackwood’s” depth in literature was something “British” struggled to match, but similarly, “British”‘s breadth in Electromagnetism, chemistry, and natural history was also something “Blackwood’s” had to look up to.

Just as it’s written on the cover page of each edition of “British”— “British” welcomes everyone with literary dreams to join us, regardless of gender, age, and even interspecies candidates are considered.

Although this statement was somewhat joking, Mrs.

Shelley believed undoubly in the inclusive review attitude of “British.” This group of enthusiastic gentlemen had extended their help to her during her most difficult times, something “Blackwood’s” had not manifested such kindness.

Arthur flipped the manuscript to the last page, leaned back, and sighed deeply.

Mrs.

Shelley looked at the young man’s face, smiling kindly, “What do you think?”

Arthur nodded slightly, “Better than I expected.

Although it doesn’t have the grandeur of Pope’s translations, her text is very delicate and also contains a sacred, religious quality.”

Mrs.

Shelley lifted her hand to cover her mouth in surprise, “You really can’t hide anything from you.

She indeed has an interest in religion, and like you, she is also a nonconformist.”

“Nonconformist?

Do you mean she’s also a Catholic?”

“No, she follows the Protestant Wesleyan Church.

As far as I know, as long as her health permits, she attends worship at the local Wesleyan Church chapel almost every week.

You should also be aware of the Wesleyan doctrines—they advocate serious study of the Bible, strict religious life, and adherence to moral norms.”

“The girl doesn’t just read the New Testament, but also the Old Testament.

To understand the Old Testament, she even self-taught Hebrew.

Moreover, she’s not satisfied with just these, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante’s Divine Comedy, any books related to religion, she reads them, and she insists on reading the originals.”