Agreed, and many thanks to Boatman. Suggestions for future book club reading are very welcome. In the meantime, we have our first appointment with whodunnit writer Patricia Moyes; the book is Murder Fantastical. Other puzzling books June 1999 Crossword 21,620. The biggest day in the Guardian crossword since 28 December 1970: for the first time the puzzle is published online. Rover has the honour and in the following days and weeks he is followed by the other Guardian setters of the day: Fawley, Araucaria, Rufus, Janus, Pasquale, Chifonie, Crispa, Logodaedalus, Taupi, Plodge, Shed, Gordius, Paul, Bunthorne, Mercury, Enigmatist, Gemini, Quantum, Orlando, Audreus, Hendra, Auster, Egoist (over a year later; see above) and finally Fidelio in February 2001. Six (Araucaria, Janus, Crispa, Gordius, Bunthorne and Audreus) are survivors from the dawn of the pseudonym era. At the time of writing, three remain: Enigmatist, Pasquale and Paul. January 2004 23,047, a one-off celebrating Australia Day by Kookaburra, who we believe to be Auster. There is a twist. January 2002 22,420, the 181st and final puzzle by Hendra (only five of which came in the online era; obituary). Congratulations on your 200th puzzle. Is it your only job, and do you compile for other outlets under other pseudonyms?

Fish have provided my most productive subject area – there have been five puzzles so far. There are plenty of fish to choose from; they often have short names amenable to using in anagram clues, and we tend to find them funny. If you add in three drink-based puzzles and eight with some other type of food, that would make 16 puzzles with food-and-drink themes, which rather echoes your experience. Hm. Maybe I should stop asking other setters that, as I’m drawing a blank. Actually, some setters do offer up corkers. Anto and Carpathian did recently; likewise Vulcan and Vlad. I’ll keep the question without answering it myself. Outside. I start each week with a filled grid printed next to headings of types of clue – soundalikes, reversals and so on – to make sure I include at least one or two of each. I write five or six clues first thing every weekday and, as with other kinds of writing, it’s usually best if I’m walking. Guardian masthead as of 1959. Photograph: David McCoy/The Guardian The 1970s: the setters take on names

October 1974 A glitch in the numbering system: the puzzle should have been 13,977; instead it is numbered 13,978.

February 2021 28,370: Enigmatist and Soup (plant scientist Hamish Symington; Meet the Setter) collaborate on a 100th birthday tribute to Araucaria. Finally, in my Give Me a Clue column in this weekend’s i newspaper, I’ve quoted three of your Everyman clues as favourites – do you have any favourites of your own? I have a lot of admiration for the more prolific setters like Paul and (in their day) Araucaria and Rufus. I can’t sit down with a blank sheet of paper and know that in two or three hours I’ll have a puzzle, and I won’t start one until I know that I have at least three or four ideas for clues that will establish a theme. That definitely slows me down. November 2013 26,118, officially set by “None” but widely taken to have been provided by Enigmatist, Paul and Shed, and so like Araucaria’s 90th birthday puzzle I class it as a Biggles puzzle – the 11th and last. It is a tribute to Araucaria, who had died three days previously ( obituary).October 1996 20,793 is the final puzzle by Custos ( obituary). He wasn’t there right at the beginning of the Guardian’s pseudonym era, but was very well known by his 1974 debut. In a little over 22 years he provided 949 puzzles and is fifth on the all-time list. In his heyday he would set more or less one cryptic puzzle every week, the vast majority on Fridays (485) and Saturdays (344), providing a foil to Araucaria during his most prolific years. May 2020 28,122, the 316th and final puzzle by Chifonie ( obituary). Another much-loved setter, for his smoothness and fairness which offered encouragement to new solvers. His total puts him 14th on the all-time Guardian list. It does a bit. Likewise “magniloquent”. Now, when I ask setters if they are prepared to share a photo of themselves, I always hope it’s not going to be an unflattering selfie. How about this time? April 2014 26,236, the 602nd and final puzzle by Gordius ( obituary). The eighth of the nine original pseudonyms to retire, Gordius had been a stalwart since 1967 and had become more prolific in the online era, providing two puzzles a month. He was a midweek man – rarely seen on either Mondays or Saturdays and most commonly on Tuesdays. We can estimate that he set in the region of 40 to 50 more puzzles before December 1970 and his known total puts him eighth on the all-time list. October 2003 22,965, the debut by Imogen (Richard Browne; Meet the Setter) who due to duties elsewhere will not return until 2014.

Boatman, you describe yourself as “very nearly the slowest” Guardian setter to reach 100 puzzles. Who is slower? When you asked me where I do my compiling, I told you “in a pub” (I don’t any longer). Where do you set “Everyman”?January 1976 14,361 is the last we’ll see of Logodaedalus for more than 12 and a half years: after the death of his wife, he won’t provide another Guardian crossword until September 1988. The only comparable gap is between Imogen’s first and second puzzles (10 years, three months). February 2003 22,765: the first one-off of the online era: a puzzle about archbishops of Canterbury by Chaucer. December 2004 23,318, the 678th and final puzzle by Crispa ( obituary), who had been setting puzzles for the Guardian since 1954, four years before even Araucaria. She was not as prolific as some of her contemporaries, but set a few almost every year, only going missing entirely in 1977. Her puzzles were most commonly seen on Mondays (418) and her total places her joint sixth on the all-time list. Based on her frequency in the early 1970s it seems likely that she provided in the region of 200 more in the anonymous era.

July 1997 21,019 is an interesting one: Egoist set six cryptics for the Guardian, all published on 18 July, from 1997 to 2003 (in 1999, that date was a Sunday). I have been reminded that Hugh Stephenson’s birthday falls on 18 July. February 1997 20,898 and the last one-off before the online era, this was set by Joke (a collaboration between Enigmatist and Fawley). April 2020 28,118, the debut cryptic by primary teacher Carpathian (Victoria Godfrey; Meet the Setter).

No, you’re correct . I’m worried, though, that the idea of someone interviewing themselves is a little … cute. And possibly unethical. October 2020 28,278, the 423rd and final puzzle by Shed ( obituary). The most recent setter to leave us, Shed had a great range: he could be very tough when he wanted to be, but could also tone it down if he wanted to give solvers a fun ride, so it is not surprising that he was seen on all of the days of the week. His total puts him 11th on the all-time list. It reveals all its secrets if it’s interrogated well. It follows Afrit’s injunction and the Observer philosophy more generally. And I use the word “Everyman” to remind me to include as much of the world, old and new, as possible.