德文郡託基市 阿加莎·克里斯蒂的文學印跡

阿加莎·克里斯蒂的書迷一定對小說裏的海灘、旅館、列車等公共場所印象深刻。正如克里斯蒂自己所說，雖然她創作的角色是虛構的，但書中的場景都是真實存在的。跟隨她的足跡，看看你是否記得以下這些景點在哪部小說中出現過。

Best-selling crime author Agatha Christie comes from Torquay in Devon, on England’s southwest coast.

暢銷犯罪小說作家阿加莎·克里斯蒂來自英格蘭西南海岸的德文郡託基市。

1)Literary fans can follow in her footsteps and see many of her favourite spots on a trip to Torquay.

文學迷們在託基之旅中可以跟隨她的腳步，見到許多她喜歡的景點。

On September 15th, 1890, Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Barton Road, Torquay. During her lifetime, she became one of the most 2)prolific British crime writers, 3)penning 79 crime novels (plus 19 plays and six romantic novels, under the name Mary Westmacott.)

1890年9月15日，阿加莎·瑪麗·克拉麗莎·米勒在託基市巴頓路出生。終其一生，她成爲了最多產的英國犯罪小說作家之一，著有79部偵探小說（外加19部戲劇，以及以瑪麗·維斯馬科特爲筆名的六部愛情小說）。

Many people love following in the literary footsteps of their favourite writers and it’s no exception with Agatha Christie. The 4)annual Agatha Christie Week takes place in September to 5)coincide with her birthday, and there are lots of events, 6)activities and tours to enjoy in Torquay.

許多人喜歡跟隨他們最喜愛的作家的文學足跡，阿加莎·克里斯蒂的粉絲們也不例外。一年一度的阿加莎·克里斯蒂周在九月份舉行，正合她的生日之期，你可以在託基欣賞到許多項目、活動和巡演。

But even if you can’t visit at the time of the 7)celebrations, there’s plenty to see on a trip in your own time. There are 8)a wide variety of places in the town, for example, that were connected with the novelist and her writing. Many of these literary landmarks are 9)identified with blue 10)plaques. In 1990, Agatha’s 11)centenary year, the Agatha Christie Mile was created, which marks out 11 locations on a one-mile 12)route around Torquay.

但即使你在慶典之時無法到此遊歷，在任何時間前來也一樣有很多景點可供觀賞。比如說，在小城裏有各種各樣與這位小說家及其作品相關的地方可供遊覽。許多這樣的文學地標都以藍色匾牌標明。1990年是阿加莎的百年誕辰，當地建成了“阿加莎·克里斯蒂之路”。該路線標識出託基市周圍一英里的路線上的11個相關地點。

The church where Agatha was 13)baptised, All Saints Church in Torre, is usually open to visitors and they often have guided tours too. It’s located a short walk from her childhood home in Barton Road and is the church which Agatha attended regularly during her childhood.

阿加莎受洗的教堂——托爾的諸聖堂一般會對遊客開放，而且常常有導遊帶領遊覽。教堂的所在地離阿加莎小時候位於巴頓路的家不遠，它也是她童年時期定期前往的教堂。

Agatha met Archie Christie, her first husband, in Torquay. They got married on December 24th, 1914, and spent their honeymoon night at the Grand Hotel in Torquay. Located on the sea front, the four-star hotel is still in existence today and certainly 14)lives up to the grand part of its name. Even if you’re not staying there, it’s definitely worthwhile 15)popping in for morning coffee or afternoon tea, or to enjoy light 16)refreshments in the Compass 17)Lounge and Bar, which has spectacular views across the bay.

阿加莎在託基遇到了她的第一任丈夫阿奇·克里斯蒂。他們於1914年12月24日結婚，並在託基的大飯店度過了蜜月之夜。這座坐落於海濱的四星級酒店如今還在，當然也無愧於它富麗堂皇的名字。即使你不在那裏入住，你也很應該隨便進去喝杯早餐咖啡或下午茶，或是在能夠欣賞到壯觀的海灣美景的羅盤休閒酒吧裏享用點心。

After their wedding, Archie had to go straight back to war and Agatha worked as a nurse for the Red Cross Hospital based in Torquay’s Town Hall. She later trained as a 18)pharmacist, which helped with her crime novelist career, as she gained experience about the effects of poisons.

在婚禮之後，阿奇不得不直接返回戰場，阿加莎則在在託基市市政廳設立的紅十字會醫院裏做護士。後來，她接受了藥劑師培訓，這對她的犯罪小說作家生涯很有幫助，因爲她對毒藥的效用有了切身體會。

Agatha also gained 19)inspiration for her novels from her life’s 20)encounters. And it was even in Torquay that she gained inspiration for the popular Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, whilst the town was home to German-occupied-Belgium 21)refugees during 1915.

阿加莎也從自己的生平際遇中汲取小說的靈感。甚至連比利時著名偵探赫爾克里·波洛的靈感也來自託基——在1915年期間，很多難民從被德國佔據的比利時逃亡至這座小城安家。

The Torquay Museum is a good place to head to for learning more about Agatha’s life. They have an exhibition dedicated to Agatha which includes items such as personal photos from her early years, to late life notebooks, 22)original 23)manuscripts and first editions of her many books. They also have some of the clothes worn by actress Joan Hickson in her 24)adaptations of Agatha’s books, where she played the famous detective Miss Marple.

託基博物館是進一步瞭解阿加莎生平的好去處。他們有一個專爲阿加莎設立的展區，包括了許多物件，如她早年的個人照片、晚年的筆記本、原始手稿和許多作品的初版。他們也存有一些女演員瓊·希克森在演繹阿加莎的作品時穿過的衣服，她在裏面飾演著名偵探馬普爾小姐。

The Imperial Hotel in Torquay, another large hotel in the town, is featured in the first chapter of the novel Peril at End House. In its time, the hotel was grand and Agatha is likely to have attended social events here. It seems to have held a degree of interest for her, as it was also the setting for the last chapter of Sleeping Murder, which was also the last mystery starring Miss Marple.

託基的帝國酒店是城中另一間大型酒店，曾出現在小說《懸崖山莊奇案》的第一章裏。這座酒店當時宏偉奢華，阿加莎很可能在這裏參加過社交活動。她似乎一直對這裏頗感興趣，因爲它也是《睡夢謀殺》——馬普爾小姐的最後一部偵探小說——最後一章的場景。

There are many more fascinating Agatha Christie sites to enjoy on a tour of Torquay. Fans of her crime fictions will enjoy spotting 25)memorable places and learning more about the landmarks and people that influenced this talented, highly productive writer.

在託基之旅中，人們還能觀賞到更多精彩的阿加莎·克里斯蒂景點。她的犯罪小說粉絲們會很享受認出那些經典場所的樂趣，同時還可以更深入地瞭解那些對這位多產的天才作家產生過影響的地標和人物