Cain's Jawbone
Author | Edward Powys Mathers as "Torquemada" |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Puzzle book |
Publisher | Victor Gollancz Ltd (1934 edition) Unbound (2019 edition) |
Publication date | 1934 |
Media type | Hardback |
Pages | 100 |
ISBN | 978-1783527410 |
Cain's Jawbone is a murder mystery puzzle written by Edward Powys Mathers under the pseudonym "Torquemada". The puzzle was first published in 1934 as part of The Torquemada Puzzle Book. Crowdfunding publisher Unbound published a new stand-alone edition of the puzzle in 2019 in collaboration with the charity The Laurence Sterne Trust. Both editions, when published, were accompanied by a competition which offered a cash prize to the first reader to solve the puzzle. Cain's Jawbone has been described as "one of the hardest and most beguiling word puzzles ever published."[1][2]
Title[]
The phrase Cain's Jawbone refers to the first ever murder weapon as described in the Bible story of Cain and Abel.[1]
Puzzle[]
The puzzle consists of a 100-page prose narrative with its pages arranged in the wrong order. The first edition is part of a hardback book. The second edition is a boxed set of page-cards. To solve the puzzle, the reader must determine the correct order of the pages and also the names of the murderers and victims within the story. The story's text includes a large number of quotations, references, puns, Spoonerisms and other word games. The pages can be arranged in a very large number of orders, but there is only one correct order. The solution to the puzzle has never been made public.
Competitions[]
When the puzzle was first published in 1934, a prize of £15 was offered "to the first reader who could re-order the pages and provide an account of the 6 persons murdered in Cain's Jawbone and the full names of their murderers."[2] Two people, Mr S. Sydney-Turner and Mr W. S. Kennedy, solved the puzzle in 1935 and won £25 each.[3][4]
The publishers of the 2019 edition ran the competition a second time, saying: "The prize of £1,000 (roughly how much £15 was worth in 1934) will be given to the first reader to provide the names of the murderers and the murdered, the correct order of the pages and a short explanation of how the solution was obtained. The competition will run for one year from the date of publication."[2] In November 2020 it was announced that comedian and crossword compiler John Finnemore had correctly solved the puzzle,[3] doing so over a period of six months during the COVID-19 lockdown. Finnemore said: "The first time I had a look at it I quickly thought 'Oh this is just way beyond me.' The only way I'd even have a shot at it was if I were for some bizarre reason trapped in my own home for months on end, with nowhere to go and no-one to see. Unfortunately, the universe heard me".[3][4]
References[]
- ^ a b "Exhibitions and events: Cain's Jawbone". The Laurence Sterne Trust. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Cain's Jawbone – A Novel Problem. Unbound. 8 October 2019. ISBN 9781783527410. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Flood, Alison (10 November 2020). "Literary puzzle solved for just third time in almost 100 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b Carpani, Jessica; Goldsbrough, Susannah (4 November 2020). "British comedian solves world's 'most difficult literary puzzle' becoming third winner in 100 years". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- British books
- Puzzle books
- 1934 books