《至暗与巅峰》内容简介
1837~1901，英格兰步入巅峰，民众却陷入至暗！在那个时代，一夜暴富不稀奇，倾家荡产亦寻堂。
“这是好的时代，也是坏的时代；这是智慧的时代，也是愚昧的时代；这是信仰的时代，也是怀疑的时代；这是光明的季节，也是黑暗的季节；这是希望之春，也是失望之冬；人们拥有一切，人们亦一无所有；人们正踏上天堂之路，人们正走向地狱之门。”
查尔斯·狄更斯在《双城记》开篇如此写道，其背景时间正是英国的维多利亚时代，即维多利亚女王统治时期，也就是1837~1901年。
维多利亚时代是大英帝国发展的巅峰阶段，见证了帝国的繁荣与扩张。在那个时代，城市工程和交通运输行业发展迅速，社会急剧变化——这尤其要归因于快速的城市化和工业化；一批文坛巨作面世，还发明了现在依然流行的众多运动项目。但对大多数人来说，那也是一个极度贫穷的时代，雇用童工和卖淫活动普遍，犯罪问题突出，阶级差异固化，爱尔兰发生马铃薯饥荒，布尔战争期间英国设立集中营，美国则爆发了废奴战争。
为方便读者阅读，本书按照章节顺序依次探讨了帝国与征服、科技革新、城市生活、健康与疾病、社会风俗、犯罪与惩罚等方面的内容，帮助读者了解19世纪与英国社会生活有关的方方面面。
书中记述了查尔斯·狄更斯、埃德加·艾伦·坡等传奇人物以及臭名昭著的开膛手杰克的生平故事，真实呈现了激发作家创作灵感，从而构思出科学怪人、吸血鬼德古拉、侦探故事，乃至夏洛克·福尔摩斯这类经典角色的那个时代。
本书附有近200张精美照片与绘画，真实还原维多利亚女王统治时代的辉煌雄心与社会风貌，领略帝国扩张与殖民征略、工业化与科技发明、海外贸易与诸路通联、经济繁荣与文化发展的黄金盛况，揭露其华丽外衣之下另一个割裂的世界，揭示了一个辉煌与贫困并存、疾病与虚伪相依的双面世界。
作者简介
约翰·D.赖特（JohnD.Wright），作家、编辑，博士毕业于德克萨斯大学传播学专业，曾在三所大学讲授写作课程。他现居英国，在伦敦担任《时代》和《人物》杂志记者，其著作包括《伦敦的血腥历史》（BloodyHistoryofLondon）、《牛津内战引语词典》（TheOxfordDictionaryofCivilWarQuotations）、《罪案调查与悬案》（CrimeInvestigationandUnsolvedCrimes）等。
陈青，上海理工大学外语学院副教授，硕士生导师，长期从事翻译实践与教学，出版译著100余万字，涉及历史、文化、建筑设计、经济等学科，代表译著有《情报的艺术》《尼各马可伦理学》《我知道你在想什么：七天破解身体语言》等。
王勇，上海理工大学外语学院教授，硕士生导师，翻译硕士教育中心主任，学校编译工作室主任，上海市中高级口译命题专家组成员，上海翻译家协会会员。曾获“戈宝权文学翻译奖”“韩素音青年翻译奖”，出版《城市外交》《大富时代》《先知先觉》等译作20余种。
A brief introduction to Darkest and Highest
From 1837 to 1901, England reached its peak, but the people fell into darkness! At that time, it was not uncommon to get rich overnight, but also to find a house.
"These are good times and bad times; This is the age of wisdom, but also the age of ignorance; This is the age of faith, but also the age of doubt; It is the season of light and the season of darkness; It was the spring of hope and the winter of despair. People have everything, people have nothing; People are going to heaven, people are going to the gates of hell."
Charles Dickens writes at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities, set during the Victorian era of England, the reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901.
The Victorian era was the peak of the development of the British Empire, witnessing the prosperity and expansion of the empire. It was a time of rapid growth in the urban engineering and transportation industries, and rapid social change - due in particular to rapid urbanization and industrialization; A number of literary masterpieces were produced, and many sports were invented that are still popular today. But for most, it was also a time of extreme poverty, widespread child labor and prostitution, crime, class divisions, the Irish potato famine, concentration camps in Britain during the Boer War, and the abolition War in the United States.
For the reader's convenience, this book explores, in chapter order, empire and conquest, technological innovation, city life, health and disease, social customs, crime and punishment, and so on, to help the reader understand all aspects of British social life in the 19th century.
The life stories of legendary figures such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen POE, as well as the infamous Jack the Ripper, are true to The Times that inspired writers to come up with such classic characters as Frankenstein, Dracula, detective stories and even Sherlock Holmes.
The book is accompanied by nearly 200 exquisite photographs and paintings, which truly restore the glorious ambition and social landscape of Queen Victoria's reign, enjoy the golden age of imperial expansion and colonial strategy, industrialization and scientific and technological invention, overseas trade and road communication, economic prosperity and cultural development, and reveal another divided world under her gorgeous coat. It reveals a two-sided world where brilliance and poverty coexist, disease and hypocrisy depend on each other.
About the author
JohnD.Wright is a writer and editor with a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Texas and has taught writing courses at three universities. He now lives in the UK, where he works as a correspondent for Time and People magazines in London, His works include "the bloody history of London" (BloodyHistoryofLondon), civil war in the Oxford dictionary of quotation (TheOxfordDictionaryofCivilWarQuotations), the criminal investigation and the unsolved (CrimeInvestigationan dUnsolvedCrimes), etc.
Chen Qing, associate professor and master tutor at the School of Foreign Languages, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, has been engaged in translation practice and teaching for a long time. He has published and translated more than 1 million words, covering history, culture, architectural design, economics and other disciplines, including The Art of Information, Nicomachean Ethics, and I Know What You're Thinking: Decoding Body Language in Seven Days.
Wang Yong is a professor at the School of Foreign Languages, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Master tutor, director of the Master of Translation Education Center, director of the school's compilation studio, member of the Shanghai Expert Group on Intermediate and Advanced Interpretation, and member of Shanghai Translators Association. He has won the "Ge Baoquan Literary Translation Award" and "Han Suyin Youth Translation Award", and has published more than 20 translations such as "City Diplomacy", "Era of Great Wealth" and "Prophetic Insight".
