Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords

About Edward Powys Mathers

Edward Powys Mathers (18921939) 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 Cains Jawbone. His true identity was only revealed when he died in 1939 and this selection of Torquemadas best crosswords was originally published in 1942.