The Shadow of Great Britain

Arthur did not wish to give him much time to think; for Thiers, such a renowned historian in Europe, even by general standards, the publishing rights of each of his books could easily fetch a high price of eight thousand to ten thousand francs in the London publishing industry.

Therefore, the base price of ten thousand francs could fully be borne by the "British" magazine agency, and as for any premium above the base price, Arthur planned to pay out of his own pocket.

He had just gained an income of twelve thousand and one francs from the Paris publishing industry, and the ever-generous Sir Arthur Hastings was prepared to spend the entire amount on Thiers, and he even planned to add in the price of a few steaks.

"Although your academic reputation is excellent, because only a small portion of British readers who understand French have read your works, we intend to take a gradual approach in publishing and distribution. For your first book in English, I think the ten-volume 'History of the French Revolution' is very suitable. However, because the magazine does not belong solely to me, with my current authority, I can only offer you a price of 3000 francs per volume for now. We can first sign a contract for the first five volumes, and if the sales are good, we'll increase the price for the latter five volumes. Of course, if you don't want such hassle, I can sign a contract for all ten volumes directly at 2500 francs per volume."

This offer, once presented on the table, indeed shocked Thiers for a moment.

This contract was not small; on the contrary, for a writer not coming from a background in popular literature, the price offered by Arthur was extremely high.

Fifteen thousand francs for five volumes or twenty-five thousand francs for the whole set, this is a price that only the best-selling popular novelists in Europe could get.

To put it more bluntly, Arthur was essentially giving Thiers money.

However, unlike those merchants who flaunt elegance by giving away famous paintings and antiques, Arthur's reason for giving money was quite legitimate.

And Thiers, unlike those foolish officials, had a notable difference because his writing was indeed of high standard and could definitely sell at a high price, though not the price Arthur was offering.

Moreover, from what Arthur said, this was just the 'first collaboration,' considering that Thiers, although young, had already published two voluminous monographs.

One was the ten-volume "History of the French Revolution" that Arthur mentioned, and the other was even more extensive, the twenty-volume "The History of the Directorate and the Empire" which narrated the Napoleonic Era.

Based on Arthur's words, the "History of the French Revolution" was merely to test the waters in the 'London publishing market,' and if the sales were good, no, the sales were definitely going to be good, so for the subsequent publishing contracts, he would surely continue to raise the price.

At this thought, Thiers' attitude became much more amiable. Previously, he was courteous to Arthur to save face for Talleyrand, not because he considered this Second-class Secretary of great importance. But now, everything was different, Sir Arthur Hastings was indeed Thiers' dear friend and personal companion, and he finally understood why Talleyrand could get along with Sir Arthur Hastings.

Thiers jovially patted Arthur on the shoulder, toasting him: "Generally speaking, as a conscientious historian, one should approach the publishing of monographs with the utmost caution..."

Arthur nodded in agreement and said, "Of course, Adolphe, that's precisely why I value you. In London, many people say our 'British' magazine lacks culture and depth. Our chief editor is very anxious and eager to change the magazine's reputation among readers, so when he mentioned this to me in his letter, the first person I thought of was you. A newly elected academician of the French Academy, if your works don't have sophistication and depth, how could you become one of the 'Immortals'? If the Academy merely wanted to select best-selling authors, wouldn't the likes of Alexander Dumas and Honoré de Balzac qualify?"

Upon hearing this, Louis glanced at Arthur with an odd expression: "I doubt that, perhaps one day they might actually be selected?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Arthur raised his eyebrows at Louis, "Then France would surely perish at their hands."

Thiers chuckled and said, "His Excellency Bonaparte is right, I also highly regard the talents of Balzac and Mr. Dumas. Given time, they will make their way in."

"But those aren't important; what's important is you, Adolphe," Arthur said, "You are the true academician, an Immortal; can we have the honor of having your association? If possible, I would also hope you could contact Mr. Guizot for us; we have great interest in his books as well."

"Oh, Guizot!" Thiers readily agreed: "Francois is an even more outstanding historian than I am, but unfortunately, his 'History of England and the English Revolution' has already been published in Britain, and it's selling quite well. However, I can inquire about his new book 'History of French Civilization' for you, which he has not yet completed."

Arthur gratefully grasped Thiers' hand: "I truly can't thank you enough; before meeting you, I thought you were very indifferent. But after meeting you, I realized that even though you have risen to the position of Home Secretary, you still have not detached from understanding the lives of ordinary citizens."

"Just a matter of words," Thiers joked playfully: "I will invite you to dinner another day, at my home, unlike last time; this time it will be a small private banquet with not many invitees, all trustworthy friends. I heard you also study history, I think we will have a lot of common topics to discuss."