Description
In the century since its birth, the crossword has evolved into the world's most popular intellectual pastime: a unique form of wordplay, the codes and conventions of which are open to anyone masochistic enough to get addicted. In Two Girls, One on Each Knee, Alan Connor celebrates the wit, ingenuity and frustration of setting and solving puzzles. From the beaches of D-Day to the imaginary worlds of three-dimensional crosswords, to the British school teachers and journalists who turned the form into the fiendish sport it is today, encompassing the most challenging clues, particular tricks, the world's greatest setters and famous solvers, PG Wodehouse and the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition, this is an ingenious book for lovers of this very particular form of wordplay.
About the Author
Alan Connor is the question editor of BBC2's Only Connect and writes quizzes for various newspapers. He cannot see a new fact without wondering how to make it into a piece of quiz. Alan is a screenwriter, journalist and the author of Two Girls, One on Each Knee, about the puzzling world of crosswords. His favourite quiz question is: What word was intentionally omitted from the screenplay of The Godfather?
Reviews
Alan Connor's charming, fascinating history . . . is as elegantly sprinkled with surprising gems as the most satisfying crossword . . . thoroughly, consistently entertaining . . . In a single, gloriously decipherable chapter he lays out with perfect clarity the entire range of rules and devices through which cryptic clues work their magic * Sunday Times *
It is witty, charming, encyclopaedic and highly readable - and it can be read in any order. Take a chapter or a paragraph, a puzzle or a clue. In each the reader will find something to intrigue and delight. * Spectator *
Two Girls is a lovingly crafted little book, from the table of contents - where chapter titles are hidden in a crossword designed by the great Araucaria - to the index, which skips from "I give up, see frustration" via "primness in American crosswords", to finish with "zookeepers, beleaguered". * The Times *
A lovingly crafted little book . . . Connor's wry, good-natured tone and his commitment to the serious business of play make him the perfect guide to a great pastime as it approaches its 100th birthday * Daily Telegraph *
Connor writes with great flair . . . it is nice to dip in and out of his entertaining essays * Church Times *
An ideal stocking filler * Metro *
The brilliant new book on crosswords that delivers fun galore whether you're a doer or a duffer * Mail on Sunday *
There is something to entertain even the most infrequent dabbler * Financial Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9780141977102
Author Alan Connor
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 237g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm
About the Author
Alan Connor is the question editor of BBC2's Only Connect and writes quizzes for various newspapers. He cannot see a new fact without wondering how to make it into a piece of quiz. Alan is a screenwriter, journalist and the author of Two Girls, One on Each Knee, about the puzzling world of crosswords. His favourite quiz question is: What word was intentionally omitted from the screenplay of The Godfather?
Reviews
Alan Connor's charming, fascinating history . . . is as elegantly sprinkled with surprising gems as the most satisfying crossword . . . thoroughly, consistently entertaining . . . In a single, gloriously decipherable chapter he lays out with perfect clarity the entire range of rules and devices through which cryptic clues work their magic * Sunday Times *
It is witty, charming, encyclopaedic and highly readable - and it can be read in any order. Take a chapter or a paragraph, a puzzle or a clue. In each the reader will find something to intrigue and delight. * Spectator *
Two Girls is a lovingly crafted little book, from the table of contents - where chapter titles are hidden in a crossword designed by the great Araucaria - to the index, which skips from "I give up, see frustration" via "primness in American crosswords", to finish with "zookeepers, beleaguered". * The Times *
A lovingly crafted little book . . . Connor's wry, good-natured tone and his commitment to the serious business of play make him the perfect guide to a great pastime as it approaches its 100th birthday * Daily Telegraph *
Connor writes with great flair . . . it is nice to dip in and out of his entertaining essays * Church Times *
An ideal stocking filler * Metro *
The brilliant new book on crosswords that delivers fun galore whether you're a doer or a duffer * Mail on Sunday *
There is something to entertain even the most infrequent dabbler * Financial Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9780141977102
Author Alan Connor
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 237g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm
