The Queen's Gambit - Softcover

Walter Tevis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141190388 ISBN 13: 9780141190389

Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP, 2009

Synopsis

Beth Harmon becomes an orphan when her parents are killed in an automobile accident. At eight years old, she is placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where the children are given a tranquilliser twice a day. Plain and shy, she learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers that she is a chess genius. She is adopted by Alma and Allston Wheatley and goes to a local school, but remains an outsider. Desperate to study chess and having no money, she steals a chess magazine from a newspaper store and then some money from Alma Wheatley and a girl at school, so that she can enter a tournament. She also steals some of the tranquillisers to which she is becoming addicted. At thirteen she wins the tournament, and by sixteen she is competing in the US Open Championship. Like Fast Eddie (in The Hustler), she hates to lose.

About this title

Review:

" The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it." --Michael Ondaatje
" Compelling. . . . A magnificent obsession." "--Los Angeles Times
"
" Beth Harmon is an unforgettable creation--and The Queen's Gambit is Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work." --Jonathan Lethem
" Gripping reading. . . .Nabokov's The Defense" "and Zweig's The Royal Game" "are the classics: now joining them is The Queen's Gambit." --"The Financial Times"
" More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written. " --Martin Cruz Smith, author of GorkyPark
" It's advisable to tape your fingers before opening The Queen's Gambit. Otherwise, the suspense may bring on nail-chewing right to the elbow." --"Houston Chronicle
"
" Tevis traps us in the breathless drama of the moment and makes us feel the same intense involvement his characters feel." --"The Plain Dealer
"" There's more excitement in Beth than in the collected works of Robert Ludlum." --"Forth Worth Star-Telegram"

"The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it." --Michael Ondaatje

"Compelling. . . . A magnificent obsession." "--Los Angeles Times
"
"Beth Harmon is an unforgettable creation--and The Queen's Gambit is Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work." --Jonathan Lethem

"Gripping reading. . . .Nabokov's The Defense""and Zweig's The Royal Game""are the classics: now joining them is The Queen's Gambit." --"The Financial Times"

"More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written. " --Martin Cruz Smith, author of GorkyPark

"It's advisable to tape your fingers before opening The Queen's Gambit. Otherwise, the suspense may bring on nail-chewing right to the elbow." --"Houston Chronicle
"
"Tevis traps us in the breathless drama of the moment and makes us feel the same intense involvement his characters feel." --"The Plain Dealer

""There's more excitement in Beth than in the collected works of Robert Ludlum." --"Forth Worth Star-Telegram"

The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it. --Michael Ondaatje
Compelling. . . . A magnificent obsession. --Los Angeles Times

Beth Harmon is an unforgettable creation--and The Queen's Gambit is Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work. --Jonathan Lethem
Gripping reading. . . .Nabokov's The Defense and Zweig's The Royal Game are the classics: now joining them is The Queen's Gambit. --The Financial Times
More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written. --Martin Cruz Smith, author of GorkyPark
It s advisable to tape your fingers before opening The Queen s Gambit. Otherwise, the suspense may bring on nail-chewing right to the elbow. --Houston Chronicle

Tevis traps us in the breathless drama of the moment and makes us feel the same intense involvement his characters feel. --The Plain Dealer
There s more excitement in Beth than in the collected works of Robert Ludlum. --Forth Worth Star-Telegram"

"The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it." --Michael Ondaatje

"Compelling. . . . A magnificent obsession." --Los Angeles Times

"Beth Harmon is an unforgettable creation--and The Queen's Gambit is Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work." --Jonathan Lethem

"Gripping reading. . . .Nabokov's The Defense and Zweig's The Royal Game are the classics: now joining them is The Queen's Gambit." --The Financial Times

"More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written. " --Martin Cruz Smith, author of GorkyPark

"It's advisable to tape your fingers before opening The Queen's Gambit. Otherwise, the suspense may bring on nail-chewing right to the elbow." --Houston Chronicle

"Tevis traps us in the breathless drama of the moment and makes us feel the same intense involvement his characters feel." --The Plain Dealer

"There's more excitement in Beth than in the collected works of Robert Ludlum." --Forth Worth Star-Telegram

Book Description:

From the author of THE HUSTLER, THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT is a modern classic about a troubled chess prodigy and her battle to survive.

About this edition

• Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0141190388
• ISBN 13: 9780141190389
• Binding: Paperback