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I just want to avoid anything trivially easy, but not ridiculously hard either (and certainly not cryptic! Seller has stated it will dispatch the item within 1 working day upon receipt of cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab . In it, I tell the story behind the development of each crossword: how I thought of the theme, the ideas that didn’t made it into print and the unlikely connections that emerged afterwards. Grids 54A and 54B (the ones with the Ss) have a preponderance of shorter lights, which matches the type of words that I like to clue, as does Grid 58 (the one with the Ws).

Michael Gilbert himself, and Close Quarters in particular, belong to neither the “cosy crime” nor the “hard-boiled” camp. I’ve kept notes for unrelated clue ideas in an old Filofax – the oldest date back more than 20 years – but I move to my laptop as soon as I have an idea for a theme. Biography: The Guardian is an award-winning British newspaper that consistently rates as the most-trusted newspaper in the country. Incredibly, Sayers tells us in a footnote that she has omitted a part of the conversation about whether RBEXMG might represent a date in a certain format “for brevity’s sake”.

The world of Harriet and Lord Peter may be long gone (can you even still pick up a “pocket edition of Tristram Shandy” to enjoy with your picnic?

May have some underlining and highlighting of text and some writing in the margins, but there are no missing pages or anything else that would compromise the readability or legibility of the text.

This book celebrates the world's favourite word puzzle by recounting the history of it, alongside examples of puzzles and words of wisdom from puzzle setters, crossword editors and members of the public who have racked their brains to find the solution to that elusive clue. I do have a favourite pen: the Pilot G-Tec-C4, which makes an accurate line and allows for ludicrously small writing. I save the best unused clue and release it as a tease in the forum once known as Twitter, then any theme clues left over go into a new theme file. You’ll discover something of my working methods and the lively relationship between setter and editor, you’ll have another chance to solve extra teaser clues and you’ll hear from the solvers who took the time to comment on the puzzles when they were first published.

Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA-EFE View image in fullscreen Navigating the waters … a boatman on the Dal Lake in Srinagar. I’m reeling them off at random: peculiar, diplomacy, courtesan, furnished, viscount, squander, sunlight, chasuble, clergyman, luminary, thousand, poverty, cherubim, treason, cabriolet, rheumatics, apostle, costumier, viaduct. Once I have enough, I colour-code the ideas to make sure I have a variety of types of clue and ways of using the theme. Test your powers of linguistic deduction and lateral-thinking against 120 classic cryptic crosswords from the Guardian's extensive archives, with the first book in the new Guardian puzzle book series.