The Queen's Gambit
Now a Major Netflix Drama
Published on 14. April 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-4746-0084-2 (ISBN)
Description
NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES starring Anya Taylor-Joy from Academy-Award nominee Scott Frank and BAFTA nominee Allan Scott
'Superb' Time Out
'Mesmerizing' Newsweek
'Gripping' Financial Times
'Sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it' Michael Ondaatje
'Don't pick this up if you want a night's sleep' Scotsman
When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there's more at stake than merely winning and losing.
'Few novelists have written about genius - and addiction - as acutely as Walter Tevis' The Telegraph
'Superb' Time Out
'Mesmerizing' Newsweek
'Gripping' Financial Times
'Sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it' Michael Ondaatje
'Don't pick this up if you want a night's sleep' Scotsman
When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there's more at stake than merely winning and losing.
'Few novelists have written about genius - and addiction - as acutely as Walter Tevis' The Telegraph
Reviews / Votes
Superb * Time Out * Gripping reading . . . Nabokov's The Defense and Zweig's The Royal Game are the classics. Now joining them is The Queen's Gambit * FINANCIAL TIMES * The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it Mesmerizing * NEWSWEEK * Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work -- Jonathan Lethem Don't pick this up if you want a night's sleep * Scotsman * More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written What Walter Tevis did for pool in The Hustler, he does for chess in The Queen's Gambit * Playboy * A psychological thriller * New York Times * Walter Tevis is famous for writing The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth, but this is my favorite book of his. It is about a girl who, guided by her somewhat unreliable mother, becomes a child prodigy at chess. Even if you do not know how to play chess, it is a great thriller * Literary Hub * Tevis was a great storyteller -- Lionel ShriverMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
235 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4746-0084-2 (9781474600842)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2016
1st Edition
Weidenfeld and Nicholson
€4.49
Available for download
Person
Walter Tevis was an American novelist and short story writer. Whilst a student at the University of Kentucky, Tevis worked in a pool hall and published a story about the game for an English class. He would later revisit his love for pool in the novels THE HUSTLER (1959) and THE COLOR OF MONEY (1984), both of which would be adapted into multiple award-winning films starring Paul Newman. Among his other works, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1963) and MOCKINGBIRD (1980) are considered masterpieces of science fiction. Tevis died in 1984.