Two Girls, One on Each Knee

Alan Connor’s charming, fascinating history … is as elegantly sprinkled with surprising gems as the most satisfying crossword … thoroughly, consistently entertaining … In a single, gloriously decipherable chapter he lays out with perfect clarity the entire range of rules and devices through which cryptic clues work their magic * Sunday Times *It is witty, charming, encyclopaedic and highly readable - and it can be read in any order. Take a chapter or a paragraph, a puzzle or a clue. In each the reader will find something to intrigue and delight. * Spectator *Two Girls is a lovingly crafted little book, from the table of contents - where chapter titles are hidden in a crossword designed by the great Araucaria - to the index, which skips from “I give up, see frustration” via “primness in American crosswords”, to finish with “zookeepers, beleaguered”. * The Times *A lovingly crafted little book … Connor’s wry, good-natured tone and his commitment to the serious business of play make him the perfect guide to a great pastime as it approaches its 100th birthday * Daily Telegraph *Connor writes with great flair … it is nice to dip in and out of his entertaining essays * Church Times *An ideal stocking filler * Metro *The brilliant new book on crosswords that delivers fun galore whether you’re a doer or a duffer * Mail on Sunday *There is something to entertain even the most infrequent dabbler * Financial Times *

Alan Connor is the question editor of BBC2’s Only Connect and writes quizzes for various newspapers. He cannot see a new fact without wondering how to make it into a piece of quiz. Alan is a screenwriter, journalist and the author of Two Girls, One on Each Knee, about the puzzling world of crosswords. His favourite quiz question is- What word was intentionally omitted from the screenplay of The Godfather?