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艺者之舞是英国民间在冬至日和圣诞节之间的庆典仪式上所跳的舞蹈,是一种非常古老的民间习俗。这年冬天,研究民间舞蹈的德国学者宾兹夫人只身来到小村马蒂安,希望能够有机会拯救仅在艺者之舞在当地一种古老形式“五子之舞”,然而却碰上了让她意想不到的事情。
马蒂安是个几乎与世隔绝的小村庄,不论是村里的贵族爱丽斯·马蒂安女爵士,还是参加舞蹈的铁匠安德生一家,都把舞蹈视作村子里所独有的遗产,而不愿将其公诸于世,因此他们从上到下都把宾兹视为外来的敌人,宾兹只好在暗中观察舞蹈的编排。可是村民们并没能预见到,在这个特殊的冬至日上,在这场每年一度的舞蹈中,将会发生一起血腥的惨案……
Pagan revelry and morris dancing in the middle of a very cold winter set the scene for one of Ngaio Marsh’s most fascinating murder mysteries.
When the pesky Anna Bünz arrives at Mardian to investigate the rare survival of folk-dancing still practised there, she quickly antagonizes the villagers. But Mrs Bünz is not the only source of friction – two of the other enthusiasts are also spoiling for a fight.
When the sword dancers’ traditional mock beheading of the Winter Solstice becomes horribly real, Superintendent Roderick Alleyn finds himself faced with a case of great complexity and of gruesome proportions…
Off with His Head is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the nineteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1957. The plot concerns a village festival in the English countryside, and features Morris dancing among other folkloric elements. The novel was published as Death of a Fool in the United States, a reference to the fact that the murder victim is playing a Fool in the festival.
The novel is classed as a locked room mystery.
作者简介
奈欧·马许(Ngaio Marsh,一八九五-一九八二)
生于纽西兰,就读坎特伯里大学艺术学院,学习绘画多年。曾从事绘画及剧团工作;并曾至英国与人合伙室内装潢事业,搭船赴英途中亦为家乡的报社撰稿。二次大战爆发前回纽西兰照顾病危的母亲,大战期间则为纽西兰的红十字会运输部工作。一九四一年起在坎特伯里大学戏剧系指导学生演戏,展开了数十年的长期合作。此后,她就带领学生在澳大利亚与纽西兰巡回演出并写作推理小说,余生于纽西兰与英国度过。她常利用海上航行的机会来观察海上旅客与构思情节。
奈欧·马许一共写了三十二本推理小说,主角皆为苏格兰警场警探洛德里克,第一本推理小说《A Man Lay Dead》写于一九三二年(一九三四年出版),开启了她的推理小说生涯,让她扬名世界,与塞耶斯、阿嘉莎以及阿林厄姆(Margery Allingham)并称一九三○年代的「谋杀之后」。尽管马许自称走上创作推理小说之路是无心插柳,也说过戏剧才是她的最爱,写推理小说只为糊口,然而无庸置疑的是绘画、戏剧以及写作在她的人生皆占有举足轻重的地位,三者之间也互蒙其利。在她的推理小说中即常出现关于绘画、画家、舞台以及演员的角色或场景。
奈欧·马许因她在戏剧方面的贡献,分别在一九四八年以及一九六六年受封第四级大英帝国勋爵士以及第二级大英帝国女勋爵士爵位。一九七七年获美国推理作家协会大师奖。
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