1836: I Became a Literary Giant in Great Britain

Chapter 144 The Story of Chess

"It takes special strength for a person over sixty to start over, but my strength has been exhausted by years of homelessness and wandering the world."

Therefore, I think it would be better to end my life in a timely and dignified manner. For me, mental labor is the purest joy, and personal freedom is the most sublime treasure in this world.

I send my greetings to all my friends! May they see the sunrise after this long night! As for me, this overly impatient person, I must go before them!

—Zweig's suicide note: "Is there a new story about Michel?"

Michael lowered his voice and whispered in Dickens' ear.

Dickens did not answer; his attention was completely drawn to Michel's actions.

As a top writer, he knew it better than anyone else.

Creating is such an arduous and painstaking process.

It requires absolute quiet, a long period of conceptualization, and repeated revisions and refinements.

Inspiration is important, but turning inspiration into words is an extremely long and painful process.

But now, what is Michelle going to do?

Live creation?

In front of the three of them?

What incredible confidence that is!

Although Michelle had demonstrated this ability before.

But every time he saw it, he marveled at the extraordinary talent God had bestowed upon this young man.

Catherine covered her mouth, her beautiful blue eyes filled with disbelief.

Although she was not a writer, she lived with Dickens for many years and, through her exposure, came to know the difficulty of writing.

Her husband, Charles, would often lock himself in his study for long periods of time to work out a plot point, which was incredibly distressing for him.

And this young man in front of me actually wants to write a story on the spot, using the game as the theme?

Michel ignored everyone else; his expression was one of intense focus.

He sat down at the typewriter, adjusted his posture, and hovered his ten fingers over the black keycaps.

Followed by.

"Da da da..."

A series of rapid, rhythmic tapping sounds echoed through the room.

Michelle's fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard.

Under his control, the typewriter seemed to transform into a sophisticated musical instrument, playing a stirring melody.

The hammer rose and fell repeatedly, striking the manuscript paper precisely and leaving clear black letters.

Dickens and Michael watched in stunned silence.

Although they had acquired typewriters themselves, they were still at the one-finger typing stage.

Whenever they see the scenes created by Michel, they are filled with genuine amazement.

This is no longer just writing.

This is simply a torrent of ideas pouring out!

Catherine was so surprised that she couldn't speak.

This was the first time she had seen Michel create with a typewriter.

This behavior is completely different from Charles's.

She instinctively covered her mouth, afraid of making even the slightest sound and disturbing this incredible performance.

Michelle was completely absorbed in her own world.

In his mind, Zweig's concise yet powerful words flowed continuously.

Yes, that's the story about the game he came up with.

It was Zweig's last work, "The Royal Game".

Stefan Zweig was called a "hunter of souls" by Romain Rolland. His greatest artistic achievement lies in his precise analysis of the hidden psychology, subconsciousness and passion of human beings.

From this perspective, perhaps we could call him the "Little Dostoevsky"?

In later generations, Zweig's two most famous works are probably "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and "The Stars of Humanity".

Especially the latter.

In Michelle's previous life, this book was often recommended by business owners and placed on their bookshelves.

Oh, and you should also put a copy of "Principles" or "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" next to it.

Ironically, Zweig's own life was hardly anything to do with the word "success."

He was extremely sensitive, spent half his life in exile, and finally suffered a mental breakdown, committing suicide with his wife by overdosing on medication.

In a sense, "The Story of Chess" can be considered one of the pinnacle works of novella.

Despite its literary merit, this work is also quite legendary and tragic.

In fact, this work was only completed three days before Zweig's suicide...

On February 23, 1942, in a small town in Brazil, police broke into a room and found a couple lying on a small bed, holding hands respectfully, with a bottle of mineral water on the table.

The deceased were the Zweigs, who had taken an overdose of sedatives the day before...

As for why he committed suicide, it was actually written in Zweig's "The World of Yesterday".

Stefan Zweig was born into a wealthy family and later became a writer who traveled the world, where he met cultural figures such as Romain Rolland, Freud, and Gorky.

It can be said that, like Cao Xueqin, he was someone who had truly experienced hardship.

He witnessed firsthand the golden age of rapid development in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century...

Such a person will naturally become an optimistic idealist, a kind humanitarian, and a staunch pacifist.

Like many of his contemporaries, he firmly believed that humanity would lead the world to become a better place.

But to everyone's surprise, peace and ideals are so fragile.

The gunshots at Serrajevo shattered all of that, and World War II turned the entire world upside down.

Zweig himself was also banned from writing because of his Jewish identity, and was forced into exile in England and Brazil.

"I have witnessed the rise of stars, and now I must witness their fall."

He knew that the world of yesterday was gone forever.

The more beautiful and glorious Europe was in its youth, the more desperate and disillusioned it was in its exile in its later years.

A person who has seen the beauty of the world will feel even more heartbroken when they see it in decline.

Making such a choice is perfectly reasonable.

Unfortunately, he died before dawn.

Wasn't Zweig's death a kind of destiny?

The purer the idealist, the harder it is for them to survive in chaotic times. But their destructive acts also illuminate this dark world...

However, to bring this story to this era, Michelle will need to make some minor adaptations...

The story begins on a ship traveling from London to Dover.

The story's protagonist, Dr. B, also becomes a prisoner held by a European royal family.

Actually, you could do that in the UK too.

There is no need for Nazism; the current system of violence in Britain is brutal enough.

The sound of the typewriter continued incessantly, and the manuscript paper was slowly rolled upwards by the rollers.

Soon, the end of the first page appeared before my eyes.

Without pausing, Michelle skillfully turned the knob.

With a rustling sound, he took down the manuscript paper filled with writing and casually placed it on the table next to him.

Then, he quickly put in a new sheet of paper.

The crisp tapping sound rang out again, almost as if the sequence had continued seamlessly.

The whole process was smooth and seamless.

This is simply the art of writing!

The eyes of the three people in the room were all focused on the manuscript paper that had just been taken down and was still warm.

Finally, Dickens could no longer contain himself.

His curiosity had reached its peak.

He tiptoed over, picked up the manuscript, and examined it in the light of the fireplace.

Michael immediately moved closer, his head almost bumping into Dickens's.

"The Story of Chess"

'

Dickens read the title aloud.

(The chess mentioned later refers to Western chess; at that time, there was no distinction between Chinese chess and Western chess.)