Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 527 The British: This is a French conspiracy!

When the pirate named Jack Sparrow entered the harbor aboard a small, sinking boat, standing atop the mast, everything seemed normal.

But what followed made many British readers frown even more.

Jack was being pursued by the Royal Navy. He fled through the naval port, using various obstacles—cargo containers, cables, cranes—to outmaneuver his pursuers.

The descriptions in the magazine were very vivid—

How Jack skillfully vaulted over the railing, how he swung over the soldiers' heads with a rope, and how he hid in the blacksmith's shop at the last second...

If that's all there is to it, perhaps it's alright.

But there was something in Lionel's writing that made British readers very uncomfortable—mockery!
It wasn't a malicious attack, but rather a playful teasing.

He ordered the Royal Navy soldiers to chase after them in neat formations, but they were always a step behind; he ordered the officers to give solemn commands, but they always missed.

What was most dangerous was Jack's attitude. He wasn't afraid at all; on the contrary, he was enjoying it. He even made witty remarks as he ran away.

"Sorry, excuse me!"

"The hat suits me perfectly!"

"Gentlemen, if queuing could win a war, you would have conquered the entire solar system long ago!"

A strange feeling welled up in British readers—not anger, at least not entirely. More of a sense of unease and offense.

But this offense is subtle, because the story is indeed well-written, fast-paced, and vividly descriptive, making it hard not to want to keep reading.

But the more engrossed I became in watching it, the more pronounced that uncomfortable feeling became.

The old gentleman in the club recalled his friend's prediction—"He might be a chivalrous thief."

Now he knew that Jack Sparrow wasn't some chivalrous thief; he was a pirate, a pure, cynical pirate.

Moreover, this pirate is making a fool of the British Royal Navy.

In the 19th century, the British Empire was at its zenith, enjoying great prosperity and prestige, and people were very proud of the Royal Navy.

They had never suffered such humiliation in previous literary works! Yet, this humiliation even carried a certain spiritual pleasure!

The novel does not explicitly state Jack Sparrow's nationality, but since the author is French, one would not subconsciously assume he is British.

At the same time, similar reactions were taking place in different parts of London.

In his office in the City of London, a stockbroker couldn't help but laugh out loud when he read the part about Jack tricking the Navy.

But after laughing, he realized it was inappropriate and quickly looked around to see if anyone was there.

At the Naval Academy in Greenwich, a young cadet read the same passage and blushed.

He slammed the magazine on the table and muttered, "Nonsense!"

In a residential area of ​​Kensington, a lady sits in her living room reading "Good Words".

When she read Jack's witty remarks, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile—but she quickly closed them again.

She said to herself, "This is so disrespectful!" But instead of putting down the magazine, she turned to the next page.

Lionel wrote so well that even though you know he's satirizing you, you still want to keep reading.

You want to know if Jack can escape, what the curse of the Black Pearl is all about, and what adventures will blacksmith apprentice Will Turner get involved in...

So readers continued reading while frowning, but the feeling of being "offended" had already been deeply planted in their hearts.

The discussion began in the afternoon.

Inside the club, several gentlemen sat in leather chairs, with a copy of "Good Words" spread out on the coffee table in front of them.

"Have you seen it?" someone asked.

"Looked."

"How does it feel?"

There was silence.

Then someone said, "Well written."

There was another moment of silence.

Another person spoke up: "But...but that Jack Sparrow..."

The third person chimed in: "That's outrageous!"

"What did they say about the Royal Navy? A bunch of wooden figures?"

"Verne's writing about Fogg was a good-natured jest. This... this is different."

"They're different. Fogg is British, Jack is a pirate. Fogg represents the virtues of the British! Jack, on the other hand, outsmarted the navy with deception, escape, and petty tricks!"

"But the story is indeed fascinating."

Everyone fell silent again.

Yes, the story is exciting, and that's what's most frustrating; if the story were bad, you could just laugh it off and say the French can't write adventure stories.

But it's so well-written that as an adventure novel, you can't find any fault with it—except for that one problem: it's mocking you!
On this July night, thousands of readers in London faced a similar dilemma.

They were drawn to the story, but also felt offended;
They admired Jack's wit but loathed his humiliation of the Royal Navy;
They wanted to keep watching, but also felt they shouldn't...

This conflicted feeling allowed British readers to experience for the first time what it meant to be "painful yet joyful"!
The British thought they were about to welcome another Sherlock Holmes, or another Fogg.

They thought Lionel Sorel would, as before, cultivate an image of Britain that made them proud.

But instead, they were met by Jacques Sparrow!

A pirate! A pirate who toyed with the Royal Navy! A pirate who made them only dare to laugh in secret!

They imagined that across the Channel in Paris, Lionel Sorel might be sitting in his study, writing the next chapter of Pirates of the Caribbean…

Damn it, that bastard must have guessed his reaction! But he won't stop! The story continues! Jack's adventures continue! The Royal Navy continues to be fooled!
……

Then the readers in London were truly on the defensive!

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What's even more unsettling for the British is that things are changing among British children!
Adults have mixed feelings about Pirates of the Caribbean, but kids don't have as many thoughts.

The colorful "series picture book" was a novelty to them!
The man on the cover, wearing a hat askew and grinning, looks much more interesting than the princes and knights in fairy tales.

The parents didn't think much of it at first, when the bookstore clerk recommended it, saying, "This is the latest children's book."

They looked at the cover, which was colorful and had panels of illustrations inside, and figured it was probably an adventure story with lots of illustrations.

As a result, many British families bought "Pirates of the Caribbean 1" and gave it to their children.

Then, things started to go wrong.

In a three-story townhouse in Kensington, eight-year-old Henry Caulfield stands on the back of a sofa, pretending it's a mast.

Then lean forward, lift one foot off the sofa back, and finally jump onto the carpet with a slight bend in the knee.

“Perfect!” Henry said to himself.

He walked to the mirror and looked at himself.

Then he tilted his head and messed up a few strands of the hair that his mother had combed for him that morning.

He squinted one eye and stretched into an exaggerated smile—like Jack's.

He felt that wasn't enough, so he ran back to his room, rummaged through his toy box for a wooden sword, hung it around his waist with a rope, and walked back to the living room.

This time, however, his walking posture changed; he swayed unsteadily, as if he might fall at any moment, but he never actually did.

His mother came out of the kitchen carrying a tea tray and finally saw him: "Henry? What are you doing? What kind of walking posture is that?"

Henry quickly stood up straight, his hand still on the wooden sword at his waist, and said confidently, "That's how pirates walk!"

Then he held up the picture book in his hand: "Captain Jack is going like this!"

The mother just smiled and said, "That's not very polite. You can only behave like that at home. When you go out, you have to be proper!"

Henry answered loudly, "Yes, Mom!"

The next day, while his mother went out to visit the neighbors, Henry started again, this time not only walking but also "adventuring".

The living room became Port Royal, the sofa was a shipwreck, the dining table was a pier, and the stairs were the gantry of a naval port.

He tore off the curtain ribbons to use as ropes, imagining himself swinging over a group of soldiers like Jack.

The straps weren't long enough, and he only swung a short distance before falling down and landing on the carpet. But that was okay; he got up and continued.

Throughout the process, he kept muttering to himself:

"Sorry, excuse me!"

"The hat suits me perfectly!"

"Gentlemen, if queuing can win a war..."

……

When his mother returned home, she found the chairs crooked, the carpet wrinkled, and the curtain tie on the floor.

She glanced at Henry, who was engrossed in his book—a children's encyclopedia—reading it intently.

The mother, of course, knew what had happened, and finally couldn't stand it anymore, so she took away the "series picture book" called "Pirates of the Caribbean".

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The chaos at home was relatively manageable; what truly worried the adults was the situation at school.

St. John's Primary School, located in West London, primarily serves middle-class students. Recently, a new game has taken over the school!
During recess, the boys split into two groups on the playground.

One group had only three or four people; the other group had more, about ten.

Among the smaller group, a tall boy stood at the front, holding a tree branch as a sword.

He walked unsteadily, his head tilted to one side, and shouted loudly, "You'll never catch me!"

The leader of the other group shouted back, "We are the Royal Navy! Surrender, pirates!"

The tall boy scoffed: "Surrender? That word doesn't exist in my dictionary!"

Then the chase began. The "pirates" ran ahead, and the "navies" chased after them.

They ran around the playground, jumped over flower beds, and crawled through bushes, their screams filling the air.

If a "pirate" is caught, he has to hand over his "treasure"—his pocket money.

But if a "pirate" manages to stay afloat until the school bell rings without being caught, each "naval officer" will give him one penny.

It's real money! No child can resist this temptation!
It is said that some agile children can earn £1 a week through this game!

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In late July, a week after the serialization of "Pirates of the Caribbean" began, some parents started returning copies of the book in bookstores.

A mother threw the book on the counter: "I don't want it anymore, this book is a bad influence on children!"

The shop assistant tried to explain, "Madam, this is just a story..."

The mother interrupted him: "Stories will influence children! My son is now imitating that pirate all day long, making a mess of the house. You're selling poison!"

Similar incidents have occurred in multiple bookstores.

London media outlets began to exclaim in unison: "This is a French conspiracy to make the next generation of the British Empire no longer revere the great Royal Navy!"

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(End of this chapter)