Bernard Shaw kept his promise and took Lu Shi to see a play the next day.
The pair headed to the Royal Opera House.
Sitting on the carriage, a newsboy shouted from outside: "'No One Survived' is back in print! It has six chapters in one volume, and it's worth every penny!"
Only then did Lu Shi remember that he had discussed reprinting with Cooper before, and he didn't know which publishing house Cooper had contacted.
He stopped the carriage for a moment, opened the curtain,
"Kid, show me."
As a result, the newsboy hid the book tightly and said at the same time: "Sir, do you have clean hands? Don't stain my book! This book "No Survival" was consigned to me by the bookstore. If it is stained, It makes me feel so sad."
Lu Shi felt depressed for a while,
Being disliked by the newsboy made things miserable for me as an author.
Next to him, Bernard Shaw couldn't help laughing and asked the newsboy: "How much does a volume cost?"
The newsboy replied: "Five pounds."
There are only six chapters, but the price is five pounds, which is more expensive than many textbooks. It is an absolutely sky-high price.
Bernard Shaw was slightly surprised and took out the money from his pocket.
The newsboy handed the book over,
"You put it away."
Bernard Shaw took the book and suddenly said: "It turns out to be the Royal Publishing House. No wonder the price is so... um... Royal Publishing House!?"
Bernard Shaw looked shocked.
The Royal Publishing House, also known as the Queen's Registry,
Just by looking at the name, you can guess that it has official attributes.
This is indeed the case. The Royal Publishing House publishes mostly official government documents, reports, and parliamentary documents, as well as books on agriculture, forestry, archaeology, history, art, education, industry, commerce, and medicine.
In short, the Royal Publishing House is a "serious" publishing house and has little connection with popular books such as novels.
Unless it’s a collector’s item,
Hardcover,
embossed hot stamping,
The price is naturally high.
Bernard Shaw carefully handed the book to Lu Shi, and then asked the newsboy: "Did you just say that this book sold well?"
The newsboy nodded,
"Well, it's very good. It sells better than Seaside Magazine."
This is obviously an exaggeration,
But exaggeration can also be lethal. If Doyle heard this, he would probably vomit blood on the spot.
Bernard Shaw waved the newsboy away, and then said to Lu Shi: "Mr. Lu, my "The Widower's Property" and "Mrs. Warren's Profession" are very popular and have been performed at the Royal Opera House."
What he said was so confusing that Lu Shi didn't react for a while.
"What?"
Bernard Shaw added: "The Royal Opera House is the most prestigious old theater in London and one of the great opera houses in the world. Those who can perform at the Royal Opera House are artists or troupes with international reputation."
Lu Shi became even more confused after hearing this.
It took him a while to understand George Bernard Shaw's overtone,
This guy saw that "No One Survived" could rely on the Royal Publishing House to reprint it and sell it well. For the sake of the literati's face, he insists on telling his glorious history.
Lu Shi couldn't help but think of a joke about Bernard Shaw:
Bernard Shaw once visited Soviet Russia and met a clever little girl on the street and played with her.
When leaving, Bernard Shaw said to the little girl: "Go back and tell your mother that you are playing with the world-famous Bernard Shaw today."
Unexpectedly, the little girl imitated George Bernard Shaw and said, "Go back and tell your mother that the person you are playing with today is the little girl Katya."
…
It is not difficult to see from this joke that Comrade Bernard Shaw is quite face-saving.
Lu Shi held back his laughter and said, "So, are we going to watch "The Widower's Property" today? Or "Mrs. Warren's Career"?"
As a result, these words silenced Bernard Shaw.
"..."
"..."
"..."
It was quiet inside the carriage.
Lu Shi wanted to slap himself a few times, wondering why he had become "little girl Kajia".
Fortunately, the Royal Opera House was not far away and the embarrassment did not last long.
The carriage arrived at its destination soon.
Bernard Shaw bought a box ticket;
The two of them climbed up to the best spot on the second floor.
Today's play is "Lady Windermere's Fan", which tells the story of Lady Windermere who did not know that Lady Ellyn, whom her husband secretly supported and insisted on inviting to her birthday ball, was her divorced mother, triggering a series of chain reactions.
As a result, as soon as the two sat down, Bernard Shaw began to analyze clearly and logically,
"Mr. Lu, that line is outrageous, 'If you pretend to be a good person, people will take you seriously; if you pretend to be a bad person, people will not take you seriously.' I'm afraid even children won't talk like that, right?"
Lu Shi scratched his head, always feeling that Bernard Shaw's attitude was extremely sharp.
He smiled and asked: "Mr. Xiao, today's play won't be the work of Mr. Wilde, right?"
Because he knew that Bernard Shaw had always opposed Wilde's view of "art for art's sake", Lu only said this deliberately, purely as a joke.
result,
Bernard Shaw: "..."
Silence for the second time today.
It’s really Wilde’s play! ?
Lu Shi was extremely depressed.
The woman on the stage read the lines in a translator's voice: "Oh, my dear..."
In sharp contrast to the silence in the box.
After a while, Bernard Shaw said: "Although Wilde was an advocate of aestheticism, he showed a realist critical attitude in his drama creation. His dramas have many similarities with mine."
When Bernard Shaw turned to Lu Shi,
"Mr. Lu likes Oscar Wilde's works, so he should know that."
Lu Shi only nodded,
"Ah... yes... but I didn't mean it just now... Well, I can't explain it either. The description is getting darker and darker, so just think I did it on purpose."
Bernard Shaw was amused by Lu Shi's bachelor attitude. He turned around and continued to focus on the stage, saying: "I have to admit that Wilde's level is very high. But there are still flaws in some places, such as..."
Bernard Shaw paused slightly, obviously searching for examples.
Suddenly, he said: "Yes! In the paragraph just now, Lady Windermere's suitor, Earl Darlington, mentioned the British defense, and Wilde chose to mention it briefly. If it were me, I would definitely add more irony. I said it in "Brass" That's what happened in Captain Bond's Transformation."
George Bernard Shaw began to talk at length about his drama. He rambled on for several minutes before exhaling with satisfaction.
He asked Lu Shi: "Mr. Lu, I heard that you are also good at literary criticism. I think you are very good at satire and criticism. If you were to write it, how would you write it?"
Lu Shi pondered for a moment and asked Bernard Shaw: "Mr. Xiao, what do you think is the purpose of the British government's defense policy?"
Bernard Shaw was stunned,
Aren't we discussing literature?
Why did it suddenly change to a political topic?
He lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "Of course it is to defend Britain."
Lu Shi waved his hand,
"No, Mr Shaw, the purpose of defense policy is to 'convince' people that the government is protecting Britain."
Bernard Shaw looked puzzled.
"People? Who? Germans?"
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Germany's strength seriously threatened Britain's interests on the European continent and around the world. The contradiction between Britain and Germany became the main contradiction in Europe.
This is why Bernard Shaw mentioned Germany.
Lu Shi shook his head,
"It's not the Germans! It's the British! Of course the Germans know that Britain is not protected."
"Pfft~"
Bernard Shaw burst out laughing immediately,
"What a wonderful irony! I didn't expect Mr. Lu to be able to write dramas..."
Before he finished speaking, Shaw looked at Lu Shi in shock, as if he was looking at an alien.
"..."
He fell silent for the third time.
