The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle – A Memoir and Historical Account of Word Games and Female Resistance
Language: English
Published by HarperOne, 2024
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: SustainableBooks.com, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.SustainableBooks.com
AbeBooks seller since August 19, 2025
Condition: Used - Good
£ 6.52
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Book is in Used-Good condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting.
Seller Inventory # 0063275473-2-4
- Title
- The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle – A Memoir and Historical Account of Word Games and Female Resistance
- Author
- Shechtman, Anna
- Publisher
- HarperOne
- Publication year
- 2024
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0063275473
- ISBN 13
- 9780063275478
- Item weight
- 1 pound
"A surprising and ambitious investigation of language and the varied ways women resist the paradoxes of patriarchy both on and off the page."—New York Times
Combining the soul-baring confessional of Brain on Fire and the addictive storytelling of The Queen’s Gambit, 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.
The indisputable “queen of crosswords,” Anna Shechtman published her first New York Times puzzle at age nineteen, and later, helped to spearhead the The New Yorker’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.
In 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.
The 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.
The Riddles of the Sphinx untangles the knot of language, power, and identity to reveal:
- Crossword Puzzle History: 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.
- Psychoanalysis and Language: A sharp exploration of the surprising connections between anorexia, Freudian analysis, and the relentless act of tearing language apart and piecing it back together.
- Feminist Protest: How women have used word games and puzzles as an unexpected site of resistance against the constraints and paradoxes of patriarchy.
- Memoir and Cultural History: 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.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Anna Shechtman is a Klarman Fellow at Cornell University and an assistant professor in the Department of Literatures in English. In addition to her bimonthly crosswords for The New Yorker, she has written for a number of outlets, including Artforum, the New Inquiry, The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Slate, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, where she is an editor-at-large. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
SustainableBooks.com
Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since August 19, 2025
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 3 to 10 business days | 3 to 8 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 11.36 |
Payment methods
Store description
We are dedicated to providing customers with unrivaled customer service, a unique customer experience, and a wide range of great books at affordable prices.
Specialty
mostly used books., All kinds: textbooks, novelsSeller's business information
GLASSFROGBOOKS INC.
51 Caldari Road, Unit #A-10
Concord, ON Canada L4K4G3
Terms of sale
Thank you for your interest in our books!
Our store policies adhere to the policies set forth by AbeBooks.
We strive to keep our descriptions accurate and our shipping fast. We are available to answer any questions you may have prior to ordering about the product or shipping.
We accept payment from all major credit cards. We do not accept checks, money orders, cash or Paypal payments. Please do not email or send us your credit card information directly. All payment information is processed by AbeBooks securely when you check out on their site.
If you have any questions or concerns, please use the 'Contact the Bookseller' link.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to SustainableBooks.com, Amherst, New York, U.S.A., +1 (856) 888-4772, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Guarantee
We guarantee your order will ship within 2 business days from the United States.
Shipping rates are based on books weighing 2.2 lbs or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.
Information
In very rare cases, your book may take longer to reach than quoted for unexpected reasons. If there is any problem with ordering or shipment, please contact us right away. We ensure a response within 48 hours. Please note that the chance of shipping delays is higher during holiday seasons.
Please double-check your information
We cannot be responsible for delivery problems/loss due to customers’ error. We encourage all customers to double check form information, especially delivery address, before submitting orders.