That is until Shandy Hall, an independent literary museum in the UK operated by the Laurence Sterne Trust, received a donation of The Torquemada Puzzle Book.

The text has been transcribed from Mathers, E. P. (1934). The Torquemada Puzzle Book: A Miscellany of Original Crosswords, Acrostics, Anagrams, Verbal Pastimes and Problems, Etc., Etc. & Cain’s Jawbone, a Torquemada Mystery Novel. Victor Gollancz, Ltd.I spent several days reading the text, scratching my head, rubbing my temples, emitting quiet groans of despair, as I marked down names and what I took to be possible pointers; and I was no wiser as to what was going on than I had been at the beginning. explanation of the meaning of “the Knight” in Paul Trinder’s narration( 9); notes about Bill’s narration (a technique to name fictional characters similar to the one used by modern cryptographists); demonstration that epea pteroenta and ephphatha may have been chosen for their proximity in Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary of English Language rather than their definition ( 75) ; Henry the dog loves to play with eyeballs ( 36, 71, 91).

The first time I opened the box, I swiftly concluded that it was way out of my league, and the only way I’d even have a shot at it was if I were for some bizarre reason trapped in my own home for months on end, with nowhere to go and no one to see. Unfortunately, the universe heard me,” Finnemore said.When Finnemore first read the book he thought the challenge was “above my level”. He was ready to give up almost immediately.

Most intriguingly of all, the puzzle seems to have captured the imagination of a generation that is supposedly spoilt by technological ease. The whole thing is enough to make you stroke your jawbone and then ponder what it means that no such weapon is mentioned in the Bible, but it is in Hamlet. Hmmm, time for another read. But if you want to know even more and/or read about interesting references I can totally recommend following articles: To meet the startling surge in demand, Unbound printed 10.000 additional copies in November and announced an additional 70.000-copy print run early December.This nom de plume was linked to the Spanish Inquisition, because Edward believed that puzzles should be mind-bendingly difficult but equally rewarding when the solution was found. It is impossible to describe the plot of Cain’s Jawbonebecause it is not a lucid, linear narrative. It’s a quasi-stream of consciousness tale, told from the perspective of an unknown (at least at first) number of narrators, stuffed to the bursting point with literary and historical references. The contemporary player has a huge advantage over those who tried to solve the mystery in the 1930’s, as the Internet allows people who do not have the same breadth of general knowledge as Mathers to look up important facts and references. Although he didn’t have any children, Powys Mathers did have a nephew who is still alive. Bill Medd is now 97 and has suffered a couple of strokes, so he isn’t readily able to talk about his uncle. However Medd’s wife Julia told me that Powys Mathers wrote poems that were accompanied by “the most lovely illustrations” of lesbian figures, so maybe Scannell is on to something. With both versions within easy reach, I'm now able to fully immerse myself in this original murder mystery.