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The head of the college, Dr. Umpleby was murdered
在書的第一頁，我們就被告知有兇案發生
in the night in a crime, we're told on page 1.
學院院長昂普爾比博士在一個夜晚被殺害了
That was at once intriguing and bizarre
從一開始故事就很吸引人，不落俗套
efficient and theatrical.
情節緊湊且富戲劇化
The solution is also bizarre, intriguing,
破案的方法也很新奇，引人入勝
theatrical and efficient.
富有戲劇化，并且很緊湊
It involves a series of confessions by fellows of the college,
這里面有一系列學院教員們的招供
all telling the truth, but none of whom was the actual murderer.
他們說的都是事實，但是沒有人是真正的兇手
You have to read it to understand that.
你們必須讀完這個故事，才能理解它
But these three books have things in common.
但是這三本書有一些共同點
Firstly, they're not only chronologically,
首先，它們不僅是按時間順序排列的
but in the observants of the conventions of the type.
而且都遵守同一種類型小說的寫作慣例
They all fit in the golden age of English crime fiction
它們都創作于今天上午早些時候彼得
outlined by Peter earlier this morning.
概述的英國犯罪小說的黃金時代
Secondly, all three use the Oxford College
第二，這三本書都把牛津學院當作
as the equivalent of the country house,
鄉村房子的象征
beloved of the genre, a hermetically sealed setting drastically
它是這種文體的寵兒，它是一個密封的場景
limiting the number of possible suspects.
徹底限制了潛在嫌疑人的數量
As the blurb to the Death at the President's Lodging has it
正如，校長宿舍謀殺案，的護封里所說
"The only people with any motive to murder Umpleby
"唯一有動機謀殺昂普爾比的
were the fellows of the college and they too were the only people
是學院的教員，他們也是唯一
who could have had the opportunity, because the president's lodgings
有機會這樣做的人，因為校長的宿舍
opened off orchid ground which was locked at night
與蘭花園相通，而它在晚上是鎖著的
and only fellows had the keys."
只有教員才有鑰匙"
Classic it's a locked room
很典型，這就是一個密室
and county house together.
一個鎖著的鄉村小屋
Incidentally, crime fictions set in Oxford
偶然的是，以牛津為背景的犯罪小說
has created enough imaginary colleges
創造了很多的虛構的學院
to construct an entirely parallel imaginary university.
它們都足夠組成一整個類似的虛構大學了
I have in mind to draw the map
我在腦子里畫了一幅地圖
guiding us through St Thomas',
它指引我們走過我的三部曲里的學院
St Antony's, Shrewsbury Colleges, the three of my trio,
圣托馬斯，圣安東尼，什魯斯伯里學院
but also All Saints, Bartlemas, Lancaster, Lonsdale,
還有歐圣斯，巴托瑪斯，蘭卡斯特，朗斯代爾
St Christopher's, St George's, St Mary's, St Matthew's,
圣克里斯托弗，圣喬治，圣瑪麗，圣馬修
St Mark's, Warlock, Wolsey
圣馬克，沃洛克，沃爾西
and my favorite Apocrypha College,
和我最喜歡的阿波克拉弗學院
and many others.
還有很多其它的學院
Thirdly my trio of books were written by Oxford insiders.
第三，我這三部曲是由牛津內部人員寫作的
Sayers was born in the headmaster's house
索耶斯出生于教會唱詩班
of Christ Church Choir School.
學校校長的家里
She attended some of those and she knew many
她上過其中一些課，而且在她當
Oxford academics in her own capacity
翻譯家，作者和基督徒時
as translator and writer and Christianity.
她結識了許多牛津學者
Michael Innes was the pseudonym of J.I.M. Stewart
邁克爾·英尼斯是斯圖爾特的筆名
who from 1949 to his retirement in the 1970s
從1949年到20世紀70年代退休為止
taught English literature at Christ Church.
他都在基督教教堂教英國文學
J.C.Masterman read history at Oxford before
麥斯特曼在成為歷史導師前
becoming tutor involving history, then Provost of Worcester
是牛津教歷史的講師，然后成為伍斯特大學校長
and Vice Chancellor of the university.
和大學的副教務長
If you look him up in the D&B, he's actually got
如果你們在鄧白氏信息網搜索他，你們會發現
more prominence for his role during the war as spymaster,
其實他更有名的工作是在戰爭中當間諜首腦
he ran a network of double agents during the war
他在戰爭中經營一個雙重間諜網絡
and in that capacity chaired a committee
并以此身份主持了一個委員會
called "Twenty Committee". Why twenty?
名叫"二十人委員會" 為什么是二十
Roman numerals XX, double cross.
因為羅馬數字的XX是雙十字
Anyway, you can see why he wrote detective story.
不管怎么說，你們知道他為什么寫偵探小說了吧
