The Shadow of Great Britain

Although he was no prime minister, he nonetheless possessed a capacity between that of a great and a minor figure.

But, Liszt, publishing these aggressive articles in the newspaper is somewhat crossing the line.

If this matter isn’t handled well, at the least, it will ruin Arthur’s reputation in the music circles.

At worst, it could be a national disgrace!

After all, besides his political identity, Arthur also bears the reputation of a rising star in the British music and natural philosophy circles.

This isn’t just smacking Sir Arthur Hastings; it’s a slap in the face of Great Britain!

He moved his hand away from the newspaper, slowly picked up the coffee cup, and took a sip, though the rim trembled slightly due to his subconscious force: ”Grave Robber?”

Heine looked at him, somewhat excited; he awaited this moment of Arthur’s anger: ”Yes, he compared you to a grave robber ringing the death knell, saying you are the Quasimodo of the piano world and that your music is only worthy of wrapping with a shroud. Arthur, look, such language, even street thugs wouldn’t dare to casually utter, yet Liszt dares to boldly publish it in the Music Bulletin, placing it onto the breakfast table of every Parisian!”

The expression on Great Dumas’s face turned odd too: ”Has Liszt decided for a lifetime that he will never hold concerts in London?”

Eld also realized he might have caused trouble: ”That fellow... even Melbourne, Palmerston, or Sir Robert Peel couldn’t speak to Arthur like this. Did this Austrian see himself as John Conroy?”

Actually, the words of Great Dumas and Eld were not overly exaggerated.

Because although Arthur no longer performed on stage these years, his influence on the London art circle hadn’t waned.

On the contrary, his control over the major theaters in the West District had become increasingly firm with the gradual growth of the Empire Publishing Company.

Of course, this didn’t mean Arthur could have absolute authority over every theater in London, but Arthur could ensure that any theater that offended him would be completely isolated from the latest adapted plays by all the authors of the British.

And all this, mainly thanks to Charles Dickens.

Maybe it’s because Dickens’ novel topics are very close to contemporary British life, so compared to other authors of the British, Dickens’ novel adaptations always sell remarkably well, his The Pickwick Papers alone has been adapted into over a dozen stage versions.

During the craziest period, Dickens could even achieve, having more than half of London’s theaters perform his adapted plays on the same day.

Of course, those small theaters certainly couldn’t afford Dickens’ copyright fees, but that didn’t stop them from casually changing the names of Dickens’ novels to put them on stage, albeit in disguise.

And earlier this year when Oliver Twist announced its adaptation, the managers of the major West End theatres nearly broke down the doorsteps of the British editorial department in their struggle for the premiere opportunity. Eventually, the St. James Theatre forcibly secured the adaptation rights to this masterpiece under almost unequal treaty terms.

They made significant concessions on box office splits and brought out their best talents in the casting.

Miss Nancy was played by the current most popular actress in London, Lady Sterling, with the powerful actor Henry Hall playing the villain Bill Sikes (modeled after Sir Sikes, as per historical and this world line), in addition to top London actors like Edward Wright, Alfred Wigan, Lady Seymour, and Miss Alison all participating, even the theatre manager himself took on the role of the parish deacon Bumble.

And judging by the subsequent performance, the theater manager indeed chose a good role, as after the premiere, the scene between Bumble and the protagonist Oliver in the poorhouse sipping soup set London City ablaze, and Oliver’s line ”Please, sir, I want some more” became the most popular phrase in London this year.

According to the statistics from those busybodies on Fleet Street, over 600,000 people have watched the 150 performances thus far since Oliver Twist premiered earlier this year.

Though this figure may be somewhat exaggerated, the formidable dominion of Dickens over London theaters is indeed indisputable, to say the least, Charles Dickens, the former court clerk, is Britain’s most successful playwright post-Shakespeare.

Correspondingly, the Empire Publishing Company, possessing Charles Dickens, is the most powerful cultural entertainment company in British history.

Some might say that even if the major theaters dare not offend Empire Publishing Company, thus shutting Liszt out, aren’t there still many small theaters in London?

If assessed under ideal circumstances, these small theaters might indeed risk everything for the profits Liszt could bring.

But considering that Sir Arthur Hastings also controls the Police Commissioner Committee, these small theaters, which typically peddle pirated plays, have to reassess the operational risks brought by accepting Liszt.

The Duke currently turns a blind eye to piracy because he chooses not to intervene.

After all, objectively speaking, for a writer of Charles Dickens’ level, some degree of piracy helps increase his societal influence.

After all, not everyone can afford the high-priced tickets of the West End Theatre, while lower-class folks mostly go to those small theatres for leisure.