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 has been the question editor for BBC2’s Only Connect and Richard Osman’s House of Games. He is the author of books for Pointless and The Traitors and is the puzzle consultant for the BBC1 drama Ludwig. He writes puzzles for various newspapers and has written for Charlie Brooker series and Have I Got News for You. His favourite quiz question is- What word was intentionally omitted from the screenplay of The Godfather?