美国间谍小说的起源、发展与现状

The Origin, Development and Current Situationof English Espionage Fictions

美国间谍小说的起源可以追溯到詹姆斯·库珀的《间谍》 ,但发展缓慢。其原因在于美国人崇尚明斗的西部硬汉精神 ,而美国政府历来对间谍工作也未予重视 ,直到20世纪30年代美国的间谍小说还不很成熟 ,40年代才出现了较有影响的间谍小说女作家海伦·麦克英纳斯。至70年代却大有后来居上之势 ,并在题材上形成业余间谍。

American espionage fictions can be traced back to James Cooper's 'The Spy', but its development is very slow. The probable reason for this is that American people uphold cowboy spirit in face-to-face fighting. The government never put any stress on work of espionage. So, until 1930's, there appeared no well-written espionage fictions. Only after 1940's, there appeared an influential espionage fiction writer Helen McKinnis. Since 1970's, the development surpassed that of England with the schools of amateur espionage, hard-boiled espionage and anti-espionage fictions.