Chapter 286 285 [Little Louis]
Coincidentally, the French bookseller who published Zhou Hexuan's works was the little Louis that Favere was looking for.
Louis Hachette founded Hachette Publishing House 100 years ago, and now his grandson, also named Louis Hachette, is in power, known as "Little Louis" and "Hachette III".
Unlike the small American booksellers who published "The Rise of Great Powers", Hachette Publishing House was very powerful, and it was one of the largest publishing houses in Europe at this time. The station book booths throughout France have been completely monopolized by Hachette Publishing House. Just think about how terrible its distribution capabilities are.
Little Louis read the news about Zhou Hexuan from Le Figaro last summer, and learned that his works were highly valued by the European historians. After learning about the situation in detail, this person immediately decided to organize manpower for translation, and made Zhou Hexuan's series of works the main reading material of the publishing house in 1929.
Under the full operation of Hachette Publishing House, no matter which station you are in France, you can see Zhou Hexuan's books for sale.
Why is little Louis so optimistic?
There are two reasons:
First, Zhou Hexuan's works are indeed excellent, especially his academic monographs, which can be called beyond the times;
Second, this is a book written by Chinese, full of mysterious and exotic style.
Not to mention novels and academic works, even popular science books like "China in Asia" are selling well in France at this time, and Gu Hongming's works have been reprinted several times.
This has something to do with the mentality of the French after World War I. Depravity, rebellion, decadence, novelty, absurdity, wildness... The fresher and more bizarre the better, "Goddess" and "Dog Officer" were dismissed by American readers , but it is just right for the appetite in France.
It's funny to say, as great as Romain Rolland, his works are not very popular in France at this time.
why?
Because it is too bright and the Three Views are too upright, it has been criticized as hypocrisy.
So whoever reads serious books will deviate from the scriptures and go against the edge of the sword.
The state of mind of the French at this time perfectly interpreted the "crazy 1920s", which belonged to the era of wild and unruly.
...
Western suburbs of Paris, Hachette publishing house.
Fevre and Bloch, led by the secretary, came to Little Louis' office.
Although the French publishing giant is called Little Louis, he is not young at all. He is already in his 50s this year.
"Mr. Hachette, this is a sample of my magazine. I hope your company can help you distribute it." Feiffer said straight to the point.
Little Louis asked with a pipe in his mouth, "Please introduce the content of your magazine."
Fevre said: "This magazine, I intend to create it as a platform and position for the historiographical revolution, with the goal of overthrowing the so-called new historiography that is popular now. I have obtained the degrees of the University of Paris, the University of Strasbourg, and the University of Dijon. (University of Burgundy) and other university sociologists, historians and anthropologists. The current European historiography needs a revolution. New historiography is no longer new. Pull it down from the altar."
"Seems very interesting," said little Louis, tapping his pipe.
Feffer added: "The "Rise of Great Powers" published by your company is actually the historical research direction we call for. Mr. Zhou's method of managing history is exactly like ours. I plan to strongly recommend this in the first issue of the magazine. A great work of history."
"Very good," Little Louis said with a smile, "Just print 10,000 copies of your first issue, and I'll be in charge of distribution."
"Huh?" Feiffer became worried instead, "10,000 copies is too much, I'm afraid it won't be sold out."
Little Louis said confidently: "Hachette Press, there is no book that can't be sold. It's just a piece of used toilet paper. As long as the name of Hachette Press is printed on it, I can sell it!"
This gentleman is really crazy. Hachette Publishing House expanded wildly under his hands, and it is still growing in the 21st century. Later Chinese magazines such as "Friends of Health", "Healthy Women", and "ELLE" China Edition are all publications of Hachette Publishing House.
"Then please." Feffer said happily.
After dismissing the two historians, Little Louis called the secretary again: "Send "The Goddess" and "The Dog Officer" to the Jury of the Goncourt Prize."
The secretary asked, "Is there any additional work required?"
"No, it doesn't matter how much money you give to those judges, it doesn't matter." Little Louis said with a nonchalant smile. "Whether you can win or not depends on your luck."
Today's French literary circles mainly have the following four awards, namely: the French Academy Award, the Goncourt Award, the Fermina Award and the Reynolds Award.
Among them, the Académie de France is the highest prize, but this award has always discriminated against the subject matter of novels, so even masters such as Hugo and Flaubert cannot win the Académie de France.
The Goncourt Award is the most authoritative award in the French novel world at this time. Even if the French Academy Award has added a novel award, it cannot be compared with the Goncourt Award.
As for the other two, it is quite strange. The judges of the Femina Award are composed of all women, in order to protest the discrimination against women in the Goncourt Award. The Reynolds Prize is specifically opposed to the Goncourt Prize, and is awarded to those writers who cannot win the Goncourt Prize.
Why is the Goncourt Prize so important?
Because it is fair and objective, without any moisture, and does not accept bribes from publishing houses.
At the beginning of the establishment of the award, in order to prevent the judges from favoritism, a house was specially bought for each judge, and salaries were paid every year to ensure that all judges had no worries about food and clothing.
But the bonus is a bit funny, the winner is only rewarded with 50 francs.
After World War I, the franc depreciated wildly, and now 50 francs are only worth 2 oceans. If Zhou Hexuan won the award, not to mention the travel expenses to come to receive the award, even the food expenses on the way would be far from enough.
The 50 francs are equivalent to a certificate of merit, and all the winners are reluctant to spend it, and they are all framed in photo frames for decoration.
The approach of the Goncourt Prize is to give all the money to the judges, and to keep the judges honest with high salaries, so as to prevent the judges from playing tricks when judging the awards.
It's a pity that people's greed is never-ending. Decades later, the Goncourt Prize has also fallen. The award-winning works are basically selected by several major publishing houses, and the authority of the award is deteriorating.
Little Louis is so active in sending "The Goddess" and "The Dog Officer" to the Goncourt Prize, it is nothing more than from a commercial point of view.
Because the Goncourt Prize at this time was very authoritative, it was unanimously recognized by readers and the literary world. Even if it is an obscure novel at the beginning, as long as it wins the Goncourt Prize, the sales volume will be at least 300,000 copies, and the commercial profits it brings will be extremely lucrative.
However, the award period is relatively long. The Goncourt Prize begins with primary selection every summer. The first round of nominees is announced in September, the second round of nominees is announced in October, and the third round of nominees is announced in November. It is not officially announced until December. List of winners and awards.
Even if "Goddess" and "Dog Officer" win awards, they will have to wait until the end of the year.
Gold always shines. Judging from the sales of "Goddess" and "Dog Officer" in France, it seems that there is no need to rely on awards to hype.
Selling crazy!