{"product_id":"9780063275478-riddles-sphinx","title":"The Riddles of the Sphinx","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A surprising and ambitious investigation of language and the varied ways women resist the paradoxes of patriarchy both on and off the page.\"—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCombining the soul-baring confessional of \u003ci\u003eBrain on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e and the addictive storytelling of \u003ci\u003eThe Queen’s Gambit\u003c\/i\u003e, a renowned puzzle creator’s compulsively readable memoir about anorexia and language, and history of the crossword puzzle as an unexpected site of women’s work and feminist protest.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe indisputable “queen of crosswords,” Anna Shechtman published her first \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e puzzle at age nineteen, and later, helped to spearhead the \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e’s popular crossword section. Working with a medium often criticized as exclusionary, elitist, and out-of-touch, Anna is one of very few women in the field of puzzle making, where she strives to make the everyday diversion more diverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this fascinating work of literary nonfiction—part memoir, part cultural analysis—she excavates the hidden history of the crossword and the overlooked women who have been central to its creation and evolution, from the “Crossword Craze” of the 1920s to the role of digital technology today. As she tells the story of her own experience in the CrossWorld, she analyzes the roles assigned to women in American culture, the boxes they’ve been allowed to fill, and the ways that they’ve used puzzles to negotiate the constraints and play of desire under patriarchy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is an unforgettable and engrossing work of art, a loving and revealing homage to one of our most treasured, entertaining, and ultimately political pastimes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Riddles of the Sphinx\u003c\/i\u003e untangles the knot of language, power, and identity to reveal:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCrossword Puzzle History:\u003c\/b\u003e The overlooked women who shaped the American crossword, from the 1920s ‘Crossword Craze’ to the digital age, and have been central to its creation and evolution.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePsychoanalysis and Language:\u003c\/b\u003e A sharp exploration of the surprising connections between anorexia, Freudian analysis, and the relentless act of tearing language apart and piecing it back together.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFeminist Protest:\u003c\/b\u003e How women have used word games and puzzles as an unexpected site of resistance against the constraints and paradoxes of patriarchy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMemoir and Cultural History:\u003c\/b\u003e A deeply personal journey into the CrossWorld, where the author’s own story becomes a lens to analyze the roles assigned to women in American culture.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41532851880033,"sku":"9780063275478","price":17.87,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_29763793.jpg?v=1725724082","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780063275478-riddles-sphinx","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}