The Splendor That Agatha Christie Initiates

Euro-American detective fiction has a history more than 160 years since it came out in 1841. During this relatively short history, Euro-American detective fiction appeared a glorious period which was hailed as "The Golden Age". Many excellent detective fiction writers had emerged and they had written numerous fine works. This thesis attempts to study the issue of "The Golden Age" from the culture perspective. To begin with, the thesis takes the works of Agatha Christie who was called "Queen of the detective fiction" for instance, analyzes creative characteristics of "The Golden Age" from the creation mode, aesthetical characteristics and psychological basis. Secondly, the thesis connects with the creative characteristics generalizing from foregoing paragraphs, analyzes socio-cultural factors that influence detective fiction such as legal system, logical reasoning, modern science and forms of communication etc, as well as literature factor itself such as gothic novels and popular fiction, so as to reveal a fact that culture plays an important role in the development of the detective fiction. Finally, by analyzing the cultural connotation of "The Golden Age" from the show of the "anti-heroism", the reflection of ethic and the concern about social reality, the thesis confirms that the Euro-American culture is the huge impetus of "The Golden Age", which reveals the cultural reasons about "The Golden Age" of Euro-American detective fiction.