The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 622 - 309: The Bigwig of the East India Company_2

For this very reason, the ladies were always fond of Viscount Melbourne, and these female supporters of the viscount could not tolerate attacks on him. So, when the extramarital affair case first came out, many upper-class ladies and middle-class female novelists came forward to support him.

On one side were the growing calls for the dismissal of ministers with unclean morals, and on the other were the incessant condemnations of brutal husbands shaming their wives.

Corresponding to the cliff-like drop in port throughput during the cholera period was the explosive growth of London’s print media, skyrocketing like a rocket.

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly turned to the Great Dumas, who was listening with great interest, and said, "Alexander, has Charles’s ’The Pickwick Papers’ finale not been sent out yet?"

The Great Dumas touched his ear and replied, "Not yet, weren’t you the one holding it back? Charles thought there was something wrong with his manuscript because it wasn’t being published. He revised it a few times privately and even went to the editorial office to ask me about it."

"Arthur, not to criticize you, but you can’t treat a talented young writer like Charles this way. Delaying his manuscript can undermine his creative confidence. Moreover, the readers are very dissatisfied. More than half of the complaint letters at ’The Economist’ editorial office are asking why ’The Pickwick Papers’ has suddenly stopped for so long."

Hearing this, Arthur just said, "I didn’t intend to pull his manuscript; it’s not because it isn’t good. On the contrary, I think he writes exceedingly well, and to help Charles with the court scenes, I even opened up some court files to him.

Because this is a perfect ending, we must choose the most suitable time to release it so as not to let down Charles’s efforts. Alexander, trust me, in the next issue of ’The Economist,’ release the entire climax of ’The Pickwick Papers’ finale all at once."

"Release it all at once?" the Great Dumas asked, incredulous. "That’s the content of three or four issues. Are you suggesting we add more pages?"

Arthur replied indifferently, "Just pay a bit more for the printing costs. Trust me, Alexander, the sales of the next issue will definitely surprise you."

The Foreign Office secretary, upon hearing this, curiously asked, "To be honest, I am also a loyal fan of ’The Economist.’ Mister Hastings, seeing as we’re acquainted, could you give a little hint about what’s so special about the big finale of ’The Pickwick Papers’?"

Arthur rubbed his temples and said, "Ah... I don’t quite remember, it’s been a while since the finale was written. Why don’t I let Mister Dumas here, the fashion and literature editor-in-chief of ’The Economist,’ give you a brief introduction?"

The Great Dumas himself didn’t understand where Arthur’s confidence came from. He also thought ’The Pickwick Papers’ grand finale was very good, but he knew it wasn’t easy to boost an entire magazine’s sales.

He began, "In the previous serialization, didn’t Mr. Pickwick receive a court summons? That summons was actually about a breach of promise case."

The case originated with two greedy lawyers, Dawson and Fogg, who acted on behalf of landlady Mrs. Bardell. They claimed Mr. Pickwick had once promised to marry her but failed to fulfill the engagement, prompting the lawyers to demand a £750 compensation."

But Mr. Pickwick detested these legal parasites feasting on the law, and though he was able to pay the compensation, he refused to submit to this groundless accusation. Consequently, he sadly found himself imprisoned for debt."

Unexpectedly, when Mr. Pickwick wouldn’t pay the fine and Mrs. Bardell couldn’t afford the legal fees, the two lawyers cruelly threw her into the debtors’ prison as well... um..."

Dumas paused there, sensing something was off.

He pondered the plot and then suggested to Arthur, "I think the £750 claim against Mr. Pickwick is too little; how about we change it to £1400? That way it all matches up, right?"

Arthur shook his head, "Alexander, what are you insinuating? Remember, ’The Economist’ is a literary magazine of objective integrity. We do not impose any editorial slant on our readers, whether political or in public opinion."

Dumas, with his arms crossed, nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, exactly. We don’t deal in politics or public opinion directly; we mainly cover political public opinion, like our supplement ’The Economist.’ Enough idle chatter. Damn it! Arthur, how did you predict this would happen? Did you know Norton would file a lawsuit all along?"

Arthur simply shrugged and replied, "Alexander, I’ve told you before, I’m thoroughly familiar with ’The Pickwick Papers,’ not only in terms of the plot but also its background. This is the basic literacy of a literature enthusiast."

"Ah? And you mention background. Isn’t that backdrop something you laid out yourself?"

The Foreign Office secretary, watching the back and forth, just chuckled and said, "Although I don’t understand exactly what’s going on here, being able to lay such a foundation is an enviable skill at the Foreign Office. We don’t have that kind of talent, so Britain’s foreign policies have always been rather improvised."

Upon hearing this, Dumas’s face showed disbelief, "Sir, with all due respect, that greatly underestimates your diplomatic work. In my view, Britain’s foreign affairs might be the best managed in all of Europe; after all, you’ve organized so many coalitions against France."