shadow of britain

Chapter 717: Master of Masters
Conroy obviously admires Arthur's achievements in publishing and natural philosophy more than he does Miss Taglioni's dancing steps.

The "Grand Butler" of Kensington Palace came from a middle-class background, and although he was often around the royal family, this did not change the middle-class habits he developed in his childhood.

As the world's number one commercial power at the time, Britain's wealthy middle class tended to emulate the upper class in every way, which led this group to develop the habit of reading popular science magazines, joining community clubs, and regularly going to libraries and museums.

Just like the admiration of scientists like Gauss in Göttingen, in Britain, publishing scientific opinions can gain enormous cultural authority and intellectual prestige, which can be extended to all issues, showing the British public that they are the true arbiters of truth. However, compared with scientists, popular science writers whose language is close to everyday life have more advantages in terms of dissemination.

And if you were to ask what is the best-selling popular science book in Britain right now?
Some people would think it is "Knowledge", some people would think it is "Bridget Books" or other entertainment and practical knowledge libraries.

But no matter which book you think it is, you cannot ignore the great role that "The Hastings Cases" plays in popularizing natural philosophy.

Although this novel rarely devotes several chapters to chemistry and physics, this does not prevent readers from gaining inspiration in toxicology, pharmacy, and natural history from the great detective Mr. Hastings's experience in handling cases.

And you can't deny that this book is indeed more interesting than a serious science magazine.

Of course, the premise of saying this is that Darwin's "Diary of the Voyage of the Beagle" must be excluded.

But no matter what, Mr. Arthur Sigmar's fans still insist that "The Hastings Mysteries" is the best popular science novel, the most story-telling popular science magazine, the most suspenseful philosophical work, the most rigorous use of historical materials in romantic literature, and the most vivid character portrayal in medical monographs.

In short, Mr. Arthur Sigma focuses on differentiated competition.

Because no matter what field he writes about, there are always a few authors in the group of "The Brit" who are better than him. Even in erotic literature, there is Elder, an insurmountable mountain.

In this case, it would be better to find another way and trade breadth for height.

Judging from the fact that the first volume of "The Hastings Mysteries" has sold 9,000 copies in just three years, the effect is quite good.

Perhaps the sales figure of 9,000 copies is really not worth mentioning in the eyes of future generations.

But don't forget that this was 1834, and publications of this period were usually printed in only a thousand copies at a time to avoid overstocking.

Therefore, the circulation of 8 copies means that "The Hastings Mysteries" went through reprints after its first publication.

The sales of 9,000 copies were enough for Arthur to take a place on the London publishing list in recent years.

It was a great honor for Conroy to meet a cultural celebrity like Arthur. If one also took into account his good relations with the British scientific community, the magazine "The Brit" under his control, and his position as the Provost of the University of London, then naturally, Conroy would even be willing to curry favor with him appropriately.

Not to mention that Sir John Conroy was an Irishman, and Arthur was the first Catholic to be promoted to government official after the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act, which was enough to attract his favor.

As for ballet, although it was Arthur who started the conversation, Conroy still felt that it was inappropriate to discuss ballet in front of such a gentleman.

Indeed, under the stage lights, ballet dancers look glamorous and beautiful, and famous ballet dancers like Miss Mary Taglioni are regarded as artistic treasures.

However, this does not prevent ballet from having a bad reputation.

In a society like Britain where showing ankles is considered immoral, you can imagine what kind of reputation a ballet dancer would get if she danced on her toes in a fluffy short skirt.

Of course, this does not mean that going to the theater to watch ballet is a sin. Watching ballet is a very normal social activity, and you will even appear to be unclassy if you don’t go. If a regular customer suddenly stops showing up at the theater, his friends will definitely speculate whether he has had problems with his business recently and is about to go bankrupt.

But watching ballet and the reputation of ballet are two different things, and they need to be discussed separately using the British dialectic.

As a well-educated British or French gentleman, watching ballet does not mean that I have a positive opinion of ballet, nor does it mean that I like this art. Most gentlemen appreciate it critically.

Moreover, considering that Arthur had been to Paris, the birthplace of ballet, Conroy felt that they should not discuss ballet too deeply when the two were not familiar with each other.

Because as long as you have some spare money and have been to Paris, you must know that Parisian theaters have a membership system. If you book more than three box seats in a week, you can become a theater member.

The most important right of members is that they can freely enter the backstage and rehearsal room of the theater and "get to know" those young actresses, especially the ballerinas with the worst background among the actors. As for whether it will be a fleeting relationship or a long-term contact, it depends on how fat your wallet is.

These things are basically an open secret in Paris. You can find out by asking around. You don't even have to ask. As long as you show your financial resources, the theater manager will naturally ask you indirectly whether you have any intention in this regard.

For most ballet dancers who come from working-class families, they are well aware of the "unspoken rules" of the theater.

For this group of "little mice" (a derogatory term for ballerinas at the time), most ballet dancers would always be at the bottom of the social ladder their entire lives. Not everyone could come from a dancing family like Mary Taglioni and have a father like Carlo Taglioni, the Swedish court dance master.

If they want to become famous, the most realistic situation is to be kept by a wealthy sponsor like Alexandre Dumas who is willing to spend money. Although the fat man Alexander is fickle and promiscuous, it must be said that he really spends time and energy to support the actresses he likes.

From tailor-made scripts to spending huge sums of money on rehearsal, and finally sending people to promote the play in Paris newspapers.

Although Alexander is not handsome, it is not surprising that he can capture the hearts of many actresses with his actions. At least his friends like Arthur and Heine dare not say a word.

Of course, there are only a few financiers as talented as Alexander.

For most ballet dancers who rely on sponsors, the theater will only arrange a role for them to show their faces for the sake of the sponsors. As for whether it is the heroine or supporting actress, whether it is a fixed role or a role that can be replaced at any time, it depends on the ability of the sponsors.

Although this unspoken rule originated in Paris, there is an old saying in Arthur's hometown: it is easy to learn good things, but it is easy to learn bad things. His colleagues in London quickly mastered the "advanced" experience of Paris and copied the whole set of experience to London.

At least, as far as Arthur knew, the evil spirits of France had already blown into the Alhambra.

Conroy kept a "little mouse" in the Alhambra, and the theater manager there apparently thought that this future "royal steward" was worthy of special attention, at least worth a heroine.

It's just...

The important roles in the current scheduled plays have been reserved by other financiers, and any temporary replacement may offend others, so the Alhambra Theater can only arrange new plays in a hurry.

Putting on a new play sounds easy, but in reality, it is a troublesome task that requires overall coordination of the script, choreography and composition.

But as the old saying goes, there is always a way when you reach the mountain.

The Alhambra Theatre was lucky this time. A few days ago, Sir Arthur Hastings of The Limey dropped by and asked if they were interested in taking over a new ballet that was being produced in Paris.

The theater manager took the script and was stunned at first glance. The script was written by Alexandre Dumas, who was highly sought after on both sides of the English Channel. The choreographer was Lucien Petipa, the chief classical artist of the Paris Opera Ballet, and the composer was Felix Mendelssohn, who had just taken over as music director of the Düsseldorf Opera this year.

Not only was it a pie falling from the sky, it was even delivered to the theater's mouth. The Alhambra Theater took the bait without even a second's hesitation.

But since Arthur handed such a major drama over to them, the theater did not dare to take the initiative to help Arthur decide all the roles.

But if they didn't arrange everything now, they would be worried that Arthur would change his mind in a few days.

After all, everyone knows that among London's theaters, "The Limey" is closest to the Astley Roundhouse, where Dickens's "The Pickwick Papers" and Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo" were both adapted.

If the Astley Theatre gets the news in a few days and pays a personal visit to "The Limey", then who knows who will get this good thing.

After reading the script, the theater manager immediately stood up and wanted to summon the Alhambra ballet troupe. He almost hugged Arthur's thighs and knelt down to beg him to decide on the actors today. He also patted his chest and guaranteed that even if none of the actors in Alhambra were suitable and Arthur liked actors from other theaters, it would not matter. Everyone in Alhambra would risk their lives to borrow the actors Arthur liked.

But there was only one thing: before everything was settled, they begged Arthur not to reveal any information about the play to the outside world.

After all, Arthur's heart was not made of iron. The sincere attitude of the Alhambra Theater naturally "touched" the "master among masters" as the theater manager called him.

However, although the Alhambra Ballet was excellent, Arthur was also very picky. He distributed many roles, big and small, that day, but the female lead was the only one that was difficult to find.

Alas, why is it so difficult to decide on the female lead?

Conroy didn't want to talk much about ballet with Arthur, but Arthur had to talk about it today.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Arthur explained the whole story. "I think highly of this play and I'm confident that it will be a big hit. With Alexander's script, Petipa's choreography, and Felix's music, it would be a shame if this play didn't become popular. But the only thing is the female lead. So far, I really can't find a suitable candidate in London. After much thought, I think the only person who can play this role is Miss Mary Taglioni..."

It would have been better if Arthur hadn't said anything. After Arthur threw out the bait, it was hard for Conroy not to think of his little lover at the Alhambra Theater.

He had promised her at the time that he would be able to find her a perfect and impeccable role.

But several months passed and there was no news from the Alhambra Theater. They only arranged two or three insignificant small roles for her.

Every time Conroy asked about it, the theater just said perfunctorily that they were still looking for a good script.

Although what the theater said was true, it did not stop Conroy from getting angry.

As an important figure in Kensington Palace and a close minister to the Queen of the future Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, he could not tolerate a small theater's behavior of not taking him seriously.

If Arthur hadn't mentioned this, Conroy would have gone to the Alhambra next week to have a good talk with them.

But the appearance of Arthur now made him see a turning point.

Conroy's Oxford accent was wrapped in the rusticity of an Irish accent. He pretended to pick up the wine glass to hide his thoughts: "Miss Taglioni is indeed impeccable, but you know that the royal family has always been cautious about the introduction of this kind of... European fashion."

Arthur held his pipe in his mouth and nodded slightly. "I think so too. Although this play was introduced from France, it still needs to be improved to adapt to the local market. And the fact that you decided to use Miss Taglioni is enough to show that you must be knowledgeable about ballet. I happened to meet you today, so it would be good to listen to the advice of a professional art connoisseur like you."

Arthur seemed to have remembered something when he said this. He turned around and took out the script with a gold-stamped cover from the handbag hanging on the coat rack. "You see, this is a drama of court intrigue. The actress who plays the role must be both wild and noble."

Conroy's Adam's apple rolled and he swallowed. Hearing this, he couldn't help but think of the girl named Lily at the Alhambra Theater.

"Well...wildness and nobility. Miss Taglioni is definitely noble enough, but when it comes to wildness, she may still lack a little meaning. After all, her "Fairies" is too impressive, and the audience certainly cannot associate wildness with her. Moreover, you may not know that Miss Taglioni's schedule is very full recently. In addition to teaching at Kensington Palace, she has two plays to perform in her spare time. It is probably difficult for her to find time to participate in your play."

"Is that so?" Arthur could not hide his disappointment: "This..."

Conroy saw Arthur's expression, swallowed his drink, and pretended to be calm and asked, "But, have you considered other actors? For example, local new stars who can be closer to the British style? I remember there was a Miss Lily who danced Giselle in Alhambra. Her modified 32-circle whip turn had the charm of Irish tap dance."

(End of this chapter)