評論
打印
I think its popularity is testified too by the fact
我認為今天上午有這么多人前來聽課
that there are so many of you here this morning,
致使我們不得不換個地方
that we actually had to change the venue,
也再次證明了它的流行
because something that people so like talking about.
由于這是件大家喜歡討論的事情
I would say that the detective story is perhaps
可以說，偵探小說可能是
the most popular literary genre ever to develop
英國和美國興起過的所有文學流派中
in the UK and in the United States.
最受歡迎的
It's a kind of novel that has been compulsively attractive
對于大量的讀者來說
to enormous numbers of readers.
它具有不可抗拒的吸引力
Dorothy L. Sayers who was one of the most famous writers
多蘿西·L.塞耶斯是所謂的黃金時代
of detective fiction during the so called Golden Age,
最富盛名的偵探小說作家
the period between the two Worlds Wars,
就在兩次世界大戰的間隔期
the 1920s and 1930s basically.
大致是20世紀20年代和30年代
Dorothy L. Sayers once said: "Death seems to provide
多蘿西·L.塞耶斯曾經說過:"死亡似乎
the mind of the Anglo-Saxon race with a great fund of amusement
比其他任何一種東西更能為盎格魯撒克遜民族
than any other single subject."
在思想上帶來愉悅"
And it's a fund of amusement that is now spread far wider
如今這種愉悅開始
of course, than Anglo-Saxons writers and readers
從多蘿西·L.塞耶斯所指的盎格魯撒克遜人
the kind of people that Dorothy L .Sayers was thinking about.
擴散到其他的作家和讀者
The Who Done It genre is now very much to defer internationally.
尋兇流派很大程度上走向了國際化
You get detective's stories coming from Scandinavia,
你們可以讀到來自斯堪地納維亞半島的偵探小說
particularly Sweden and Norway.
尤其是瑞典和挪威
They come from Iceland, Italy, Spain, Russia,
還有冰島，意大利，西班牙，俄羅斯
many other countries as well.
和很多其他的國家
There's a carrot boom I would say in international Who Done It
尋兇小說就像雨后春筍一樣
spread out across the globe.
在全世界流行
And simultaneously there is a boom in historical detective fiction
同時流行的還有歷史偵探小說
which goes back in time,
時間要往前追溯
most frequently to Ancient Rome or Judah England.
最常見的是在古羅馬時期或者猶大英格蘭時期
So the Who Done It is a genre that is very vigorously thriving.
尋兇小說可謂是異常繁榮
What I'd like to do today is to first of all look briefly at
今天我首先扼要講一下
how crime fiction began,
犯罪小說的開端
what was the starting point,
它從何時開始
who could claim to be the first detective story writer.
誰被認為是第一位犯罪小說作家
Then I'd like to move on to look at the development of the genre.
然后會講流派的發展過程
And what it was like during and between the Wars Golden Age
兩次世界大戰間的黃金時期是怎樣的情形
enormously popular hayday.
可謂非常盛行
Or in fact I feel I should probably say
事實上，我認為應當表述為
during its first enormously popular hay day.
在第一次大流行期間
Its first Golden Age because it does seem to me the crime fiction
稱它為第一個黃金期是因為在我看來
is currently enjoying a second Golden Age,
犯罪小說如今迎來了第二個黃金期
both as regards books and television drama about detection.
無論是偵探小說還是偵探電視劇
And lastly I'd like to talk about
最后會講到偵探小說
what the detective novel has evolved into in our time,
在我們所處時代中的演變
and what its prospects of survival
和其作為流行小說的
as an enormously popular kind of writing are.
發展前景
