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The head of the college, Dr. Umpleby was murdered
在书的第一页，我们就被告知有凶案发生
in the night in a crime, we're told on page 1.
学院院长昂普尔比博士在一个夜晚被杀害了
That was at once intriguing and bizarre
从一开始故事就很吸引人，不落俗套
efficient and theatrical.
情节紧凑且富戏剧化
The solution is also bizarre, intriguing,
破案的方法也很新奇，引人入胜
theatrical and efficient.
富有戏剧化，并且很紧凑
It involves a series of confessions by fellows of the college,
这里面有一系列学院教员们的招供
all telling the truth, but none of whom was the actual murderer.
他们说的都是事实，但是没有人是真正的凶手
You have to read it to understand that.
你们必须读完这个故事，才能理解它
But these three books have things in common.
但是这三本书有一些共同点
Firstly, they're not only chronologically,
首先，它们不仅是按时间顺序排列的
but in the observants of the conventions of the type.
而且都遵守同一种类型小说的写作惯例
They all fit in the golden age of English crime fiction
它们都创作于今天上午早些时候彼得
outlined by Peter earlier this morning.
概述的英国犯罪小说的黄金时代
Secondly, all three use the Oxford College
第二，这三本书都把牛津学院当作
as the equivalent of the country house,
乡村房子的象征
beloved of the genre, a hermetically sealed setting drastically
它是这种文体的宠儿，它是一个密封的场景
limiting the number of possible suspects.
彻底限制了潜在嫌疑人的数量
As the blurb to the Death at the President's Lodging has it
正如，校长宿舍谋杀案，的护封里所说
"The only people with any motive to murder Umpleby
"唯一有动机谋杀昂普尔比的
were the fellows of the college and they too were the only people
是学院的教员，他们也是唯一
who could have had the opportunity, because the president's lodgings
有机会这样做的人，因为校长的宿舍
opened off orchid ground which was locked at night
与兰花园相通，而它在晚上是锁着的
and only fellows had the keys."
只有教员才有钥匙"
Classic it's a locked room
很典型，这就是一个密室
and county house together.
一个锁着的乡村小屋
Incidentally, crime fictions set in Oxford
偶然的是，以牛津为背景的犯罪小说
has created enough imaginary colleges
创造了很多的虚构的学院
to construct an entirely parallel imaginary university.
它们都足够组成一整个类似的虚构大学了
I have in mind to draw the map
我在脑子里画了一幅地图
guiding us through St Thomas',
它指引我们走过我的三部曲里的学院
St Antony's, Shrewsbury Colleges, the three of my trio,
圣托马斯，圣安东尼，什鲁斯伯里学院
but also All Saints, Bartlemas, Lancaster, Lonsdale,
还有欧圣斯，巴托玛斯，兰卡斯特，朗斯代尔
St Christopher's, St George's, St Mary's, St Matthew's,
圣克里斯托弗，圣乔治，圣玛丽，圣马修
St Mark's, Warlock, Wolsey
圣马克，沃洛克，沃尔西
and my favorite Apocrypha College,
和我最喜欢的阿波克拉弗学院
and many others.
还有很多其它的学院
Thirdly my trio of books were written by Oxford insiders.
第三，我这三部曲是由牛津内部人员写作的
Sayers was born in the headmaster's house
索耶斯出生于教会唱诗班
of Christ Church Choir School.
学校校长的家里
She attended some of those and she knew many
她上过其中一些课，而且在她当
Oxford academics in her own capacity
翻译家，作者和基督徒时
as translator and writer and Christianity.
她结识了许多牛津学者
Michael Innes was the pseudonym of J.I.M. Stewart
迈克尔·英尼斯是斯图尔特的笔名
who from 1949 to his retirement in the 1970s
从1949年到20世纪70年代退休为止
taught English literature at Christ Church.
他都在基督教教堂教英国文学
J.C.Masterman read history at Oxford before
麦斯特曼在成为历史导师前
becoming tutor involving history, then Provost of Worcester
是牛津教历史的讲师，然后成为伍斯特大学校长
and Vice Chancellor of the university.
和大学的副教务长
If you look him up in the D&B, he's actually got
如果你们在邓白氏信息网搜索他，你们会发现
more prominence for his role during the war as spymaster,
其实他更有名的工作是在战争中当间谍首脑
he ran a network of double agents during the war
他在战争中经营一个双重间谍网络
and in that capacity chaired a committee
并以此身份主持了一个委员会
called "Twenty Committee". Why twenty?
名叫"二十人委员会" 为什么是二十
Roman numerals XX, double cross.
因为罗马数字的XX是双十字
Anyway, you can see why he wrote detective story.
不管怎么说，你们知道他为什么写侦探小说了吧
