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I think its popularity is testified too by the fact
我认为今天上午有这么多人前来听课
that there are so many of you here this morning,
致使我们不得不换个地方
that we actually had to change the venue,
也再次证明了它的流行
because something that people so like talking about.
由于这是件大家喜欢讨论的事情
I would say that the detective story is perhaps
可以说，侦探小说可能是
the most popular literary genre ever to develop
英国和美国兴起过的所有文学流派中
in the UK and in the United States.
最受欢迎的
It's a kind of novel that has been compulsively attractive
对于大量的读者来说
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
多萝西·L.塞耶斯是所谓的黄金时代
of detective fiction during the so called Golden Age,
最富盛名的侦探小说作家
the period between the two Worlds Wars,
就在两次世界大战的间隔期
the 1920s and 1930s basically.
大致是20世纪20年代和30年代
Dorothy L. Sayers once said: "Death seems to provide
多萝西·L.塞耶斯曾经说过:"死亡似乎
the mind of the Anglo-Saxon race with a great fund of amusement
比其他任何一种东西更能为盎格鲁撒克逊民族
than any other single subject."
在思想上带来愉悦"
And it's a fund of amusement that is now spread far wider
如今这种愉悦开始
of course, than Anglo-Saxons writers and readers
从多萝西·L.塞耶斯所指的盎格鲁撒克逊人
the kind of people that Dorothy L .Sayers was thinking about.
扩散到其他的作家和读者
The Who Done It genre is now very much to defer internationally.
寻凶流派很大程度上走向了国际化
You get detective's stories coming from Scandinavia,
你们可以读到来自斯堪地纳维亚半岛的侦探小说
particularly Sweden and Norway.
尤其是瑞典和挪威
They come from Iceland, Italy, Spain, Russia,
还有冰岛，意大利，西班牙，俄罗斯
many other countries as well.
和很多其他的国家
There's a carrot boom I would say in international Who Done It
寻凶小说就像雨后春笋一样
spread out across the globe.
在全世界流行
And simultaneously there is a boom in historical detective fiction
同时流行的还有历史侦探小说
which goes back in time,
时间要往前追溯
most frequently to Ancient Rome or Judah England.
最常见的是在古罗马时期或者犹大英格兰时期
So the Who Done It is a genre that is very vigorously thriving.
寻凶小说可谓是异常繁荣
What I'd like to do today is to first of all look briefly at
今天我首先扼要讲一下
how crime fiction began,
犯罪小说的开端
what was the starting point,
它从何时开始
who could claim to be the first detective story writer.
谁被认为是第一位犯罪小说作家
Then I'd like to move on to look at the development of the genre.
然后会讲流派的发展过程
And what it was like during and between the Wars Golden Age
两次世界大战间的黄金时期是怎样的情形
enormously popular hayday.
可谓非常盛行
Or in fact I feel I should probably say
事实上，我认为应当表述为
during its first enormously popular hay day.
在第一次大流行期间
Its first Golden Age because it does seem to me the crime fiction
称它为第一个黄金期是因为在我看来
is currently enjoying a second Golden Age,
犯罪小说如今迎来了第二个黄金期
both as regards books and television drama about detection.
无论是侦探小说还是侦探电视剧
And lastly I'd like to talk about
最后会讲到侦探小说
what the detective novel has evolved into in our time,
在我们所处时代中的演变
and what its prospects of survival
和其作为流行小说的
as an enormously popular kind of writing are.
发展前景
