Cain's Jawbone: A Novel Problem

Ernest Powys Mathers

ISBN 10: 1783527412 / ISBN 13: 9781783527410

Published by Unbound, 2019

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Description:

Fine condition. Unbound, 2019. Boxset includes: Book, 100 unbound individual pages printed. First edition of this new edition. Paperback and unbound printed pages in fine condition (two small creases on the edges of 2 of the unbound pages), with a boxset (a couple of small dents and nicks on the edges of the boxset) in near fine condition. The set is as new. 114pp including A note on the Author. A collectable and out of print boxset. This is another paragraph In 1934, the Observer s cryptic crossword compiler, Edward Powys Mathers (aka Torquemada), released a novel that was simultaneously a murder mystery and the most fiendishly difficult literary puzzle ever written. The pages have been printed in an entirely haphazard order, but it is possible through logic and intelligent reading to sort the pages into the only correct order, revealing six murder victims and their respective murderers. Only two puzzlers have ever solved the mystery of Cain s Jawbone: do you have what it takes to join their ranks? Please note: this puzzle is extremely difficult and not for the faint-hearted. Seller Inventory # 12172

About this title:

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Synopsis: In 1934, The Observer’s crossword writer, Edward Powys Mathers, wrote a unique novel Cain’s Jawbone. The title, referring to the first recorded murder weapon, was written under his pen name Torquemada. The story was not only a murder mystery but one of the hardest and most beguiling word puzzles ever published.

The 100 pages of the book were printed and bound out of order and the reader was invited to re-order the pages, solve the mysteries and reveal the murderer(s). There were over 32 million possible combinations of pages but only one order was correct. The puzzle was extremely difficult and was only solved by two puzzlers whose names were revealed in The Observer - but the solution to the problem remained a secret.

The Laurence Sterne Trust is interested in all literary works that challenge the idea of linear narrative (BS Johnson, Marc Saporta, Julio Cortázar &c) in line with Laurence Sterne’s legacy, so the Trust responded with a mixture of surprise and delight when The Torquemada Puzzle Book was donated to the museum’s contemporary collection, even though the solution was missing. Now, after many months of research and good fortune, the Trust has managed to unlock the secret of Cain’s Jawbone.

To share the complexities, red-herrings and literary adventures hidden in the puzzle, Unbound are republishing the book in a custom-made box so that readers can physically reorder the pages for themselves and then get down to identifying the characters behind the fiendish crimes.

About the Author:

Edward Powys Mathers’s (1892 – 1939) introduced the cryptic crossword to Britain in 1924 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 100 pages of which contained the novel-cum-puzzle Cain’s Jawbone.

The book is being re-issued with the assistance of The Laurence Sterne Trust and Patrick Wildgust, the curator of Shandy Hall.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Cain's Jawbone: A Novel Problem
Publisher: Unbound
Publication Date: 2019
Binding: Soft cover
Book Condition: Fine
Edition: 1st Edition