侦探推理小说风靡全球已有将近两百年的历史。从西方侦探小说鼻祖爱伦·坡，到创造经典的柯南·道尔，再到如今家喻户晓的东野圭吾，世界侦探推理小说以其独特的艺术魅力征服了一批又一批的读者。在充满悬疑刺激又不乏冷静智慧的推理世界中，推理小说家们尽情地挥洒想象力和创作激情，带领读者开启一场场趣味横生的解谜游戏。时值初夏，我们将用四期栏目为大家推介英国侦探小说之父威尔基·柯林斯的两部代表作。今天为大家推介的是其出版于1868年的《月亮宝石》，一起看看这枚受到诅咒的珍贵宝石究竟引发了怎样的悬疑故事。

作品简介

《月亮宝石》是英国维多利亚时期小说家威尔基·柯林斯创作的长篇小说。该作讲述了一颗价值连城的黄色宝石在一七九九年英军侵略印度圣城时被英国军官掠走，随后围绕着这颗宝石发生了一系列惊险曲折、匪夷所思的故事。作者在小说中大胆披露了英国在印度犯下的滔天罪行，有力地抨击了英国上层领导者。该作是英国侦探推理文学的创始之作，也是其作者柯林斯最著名的代表作。

 

作者简介

威尔基·柯林斯（Wilkie Collins，1824-1889），英国侦探小说家。出生于英国伦敦，早年就读于海堡私立学校，12岁移居意大利，三年后回国。曾从事茶叶经营，后改学法律，1847年开始写作生涯，第一部作品是纪实文学《威廉·柯林斯传》。后与文豪狄更斯结识，成为莫逆之交，其创作也得以进步。代表作有《月亮宝石》《白衣女人》。

   英国侦探小说之父威尔基·柯林斯

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In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, at page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it thus written:

‘Now I saw, though too late, the Folly of beginning a Work before we count the Cost, and before we judge rightly of our own Strength to go through with it.’

Only yesterday I opened my Robinson Crusoe at that place. Only this morning (May twenty-first, Eighteen hundred and fifty) came my lady’s nephew, Mr Franklin Blake, and held a short conversation with me, as follows:

‘Betteredge,’ says Mr Franklin, ‘I have been to the lawyer’s about some family matters; and, among other things, we have been talking of the loss of the Indian Diamond, in my aunt’s house in Yorkshire, two years since. Mr Bruff thinks, as I think, that the whole story ought, in the interests of truth, to be placed on record in writing – and the sooner the better.

Not perceiving his drift yet, and thinking it always desirable for the sake of peace and quietness to be on the lawyer’s side, I said I thought so too. Mr Franklin went on.

‘In this matter of the Diamond,’ he said, ‘the characters of innocent people have suffered under suspicion already – as you know. The memories of innocent people may suffer, hereafter, for want of a record of the facts to which those who come after us can appeal. There can be no doubt that this strange family story of ours ought to be told. And I think, Betteredge, Mr Bruff and I together have hit on the right way of telling it.’

Very satisfactory to both of them, no doubt. But I failed to see what I myself had to do with it, so far.

 

词汇学习

loss  n. 丧失，遗失；损失，损耗，亏损；失败

suspicion  n. 猜疑，怀疑

memory  n. 记忆，回忆；记忆力；存储

record  n. 记录；最高记录；履历；唱片

       v. 记录；录音

appeal  n. 呼吁，要求；吸引力；申诉，上诉

（单词注释来自有道词典）

本书以简洁明了的方式梳理了世界推理文学180年的历史，介绍了推理文学发展的各个阶段、流派，及各阶段、流派中具代表性的创作者及其作品。作者用轻松流畅的笔调为读者搭建起了一个推理文学史框架，系统、专业的同时具有很强的可读性。全书分欧美篇、日本篇，共十章，附录“中国的推理文学”、世界文学大奖通览、推理小说200部推荐。

While detective fiction was hugely popular in interwar Britain, a wealth of other kinds of factual and fictional crime writing was also widely read during these years. This book examines some of this neglected material and provides a more complex view of how crime and criminality were understood between the wars.

 

文案策划及录音：图书借阅部 李圣昭

编辑：宣传策划小组  宋丙秀