The Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords by Edward Powys Mathers

Skip to product information
1 of 1

The Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords by Edward Powys Mathers

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Proud to be B-Corp

Our business meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. In short, we care about people and the planet.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free delivery in the UK
  • Supporting authors with AuthorSHARE
  • 100% recyclable packaging
  • Proud to be a B Corp – A Business for good
  • Buy-back with World of Books - Sell Your Books

The Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords by Edward Powys Mathers

If you're ready for an extra-hard, old-time challenge, have
at it -- Will Shortz
From the creator and publisher behind the viral sensation Cain's Jawbone: A Very Novel Mystery, is a collection of 112 difficult cryptic crossword puzzles.Before Edward Powys Mathers wrote the world's most fiendishly difficult literary puzzle, he was a cryptic crossword creator. Under his pseudonym Torquemada, his puzzles would taunt readers for days. He created his first cryptic crossword puzzle in 1924 and went on to set them for the Saturday Westminster and the Observer for the next 15 years. His true identity was only revealed when he died in 1939. As well as earning the reputation for setting the world's toughest crosswords, Torquemada - or 'Torq' as he was often referred to - was also delightfully creative: with many puzzles written in perfectly constructed verse, or delivered as mini-narratives to their solvers. There's even a version where the clues are knock-knock jokes. For many years cryptic crosswords were simply known as puzzles in the 'Torquemada style'. This selection of Torquemada's best crosswords was originally published in 1942 and contains three short accounts of Torquemada's life and achievements, including one by his widow, R.C. Mathers as well as a foreword by the crossword puzzle editor for the>New York Times, Will Shortz. The successful revival of Cain's Jawbone has inspired a new generation of puzzle solvers.Here then is the next challenge for Torquemada's fans - dare you take it on?

Edward Powys Mathers (1892–1939) introduced the cryptic crossword to Britain in 1926 through the pages of the Observer. Known as Torquemada, he was acknowledged as a brilliant translator and a critic specialising in crime fiction. In 1934 he published a selection of his puzzles under the title The Torquemada Puzzle Book – the final hundred pages of which contained the novel-cum-puzzle Cain’s Jawbone. His true identity was only revealed when he died in 1939, and this selection of Torquemada’s best crosswords was originally published in 1942.

SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781789651669
ISBN 10 1789651662
Title The Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords
Author Edward Powys Mathers
Condition Unavailable
Binding type Paperback
Publisher Unbound
Year published 2023-09-21
Number of pages 400
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable