Araucaria is the nation's best-known and best-loved crossword compiler. An 80-year-old retired clergyman from Cambridge, he has been boggling the minds of Guardian readers for over 40 years. He is an institution and a national legend. Araucaria's latest selection of the very best of his ingenious and fiendish cryptic crosswords are available together in one book. Monkey Puzzles is a must for all crossword-lovers.

The master setter Araucaria returns with a new collection of 100 little-known crosswords from the early days of 1 Across magazine. By turns infuriating and amusing, captivating and satisfying, these challenging crosswords were previously only seen by a select band of solvers. Now cryptic crossword fans everywhere can relish the challenge of this diverse assortment.

No compiler has given more pleasure to more people.Hugh Stephenson, crossword editor of The Guardian

A little gem of a memoir... The book adds up to more than a sum of its parts and lingers in the memory long after the final page. -- Sunday Telegraph Half a million people a day do it in the Telegraph. The Times claims almost as many, and the Guardian 300,000. Most people remember their first time, and everyone has a favourite. You can do it in bed, standing up, or on a train. You can do it alone, with a loved one or in groups. The Queen does it in the bath. It is not illegal, immoral or fattening. In fact it tops the Home Office list of approved entertainments for prison inmates. Crosswords are a very British obsession. Crosswords are a very British obsession. Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose is a personal reminiscence and a guide to solving crossword puzzles. But it is much, much more than a 'how-to' book. Each chapter is starts with a clue, and uses anecdote, history and autobiography to solve it, in the process describing something of what it means to love England. In the process, we encounter The Best Crossword Clue Ever, The Most Beautiful Clue in the World 'Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose' and the eccentric personalities behind such legendary compilers as the Guardian's Araucaria and The Times'Ximenes.

Packed with examples from the Guardian's celebrated compilers - from Araucaria and Rufus to Bunthorne and Janus - Secrets of the Setters explains how all the different types of cryptic clues work. It shows you how to unravel the elliptical language and how to spot the tricks of the compiler's trade. The book also includes a large selection of practice puzzles and a handy list of words and letters that setters commonly use as their cryptic building blocks.

Two Girls, One on Each Knee: A History of Cryptic Crosswords is an audaciously constructed book on the pleasures and puzzles of cryptic crosswords and their linguistic wordplay, from Alan Connor, the Guardian's writer on crosswords On 21 December 2013, the crossword puzzle will be 100 years old. In the century since, it has evolved into the world's most popular intellectual pastime: a unique form of wordplay, the codes and conventions of which are open to anyone masochistic enough to get addicted. In Two Girls, One on Each Knee, Alan Connor celebrates the wit, ingenuity and frustration of setting and solving puzzles. From the beaches of D-Day to the imaginary worlds of three-dimensional puzzles, to the British school teachers and journalists who turned the form into the fiendish sport it is today, encompassing the most challenging clues, particular tricks, the world's greatest setters and famous solvers, PG Wodehouse and the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition, this is an ingenious book for lovers of this very particular form of wordplay. Note: The book begins with a puzzle in a standard 15-by-15 grid which incorporates all the basic clue types. The answers are also the chapter titles. Alan Connor writes twice-weekly about crosswords for the Guardian. He has contributed pieces about language for the BBC and the Guardian and works in radio and television, writing for Charlie Brooker, Caitlin Moran and Sue Perkins. His most recent writing was A Young Doctor's Notebook, a TV adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov stories starring Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm.

A brand-new collection of fiendish puzzles from the best Guardian setters

The Times Crossword is the best-known crossword in the world. Expert crossword solver and setter, Tim Moorey, dispels the misconception that cryptic crosswords are the preserve of the elite. In this accessible guide, he demonstrates that anyone who enjoys words and word play can learn to solve a cryptic crossword clue. In order to master The Times Crossword, Tim Moorey guides the beginner and intermediate solver through the following: - What is a crpytic clue - Each clue type in detail - Tips to aid the solving process - What to do when stuck - Practice clues - Solutions with clear explanations - Why do The Times Crossword - Facts about The Times Crossword - Recommended websites and blogs This book reveals all you need to know about the enjoyable cerebral pastime of crossword-solving and how to decipher the most intricate of clues. Tim Moorey proves that you too can revel in the deep satisfaction that comes from finishing The Times Crossword.

Acknowledged as the definitive work on modern crosswords, Chambers Crossword Manual is an essential handbook for all crossword fans from beginners to experts. It is packed with practical advice on solving crosswords, as well as many practice crosswords. "Top of the crossword market - magisterial and authoritative" - Colin Dexter "For the novice or the champion, this is the book" - Gyles Brandreth "A truly kaleidoscopic feat" - Susie Dent "I recommend it strongly" - Jonathan Crowther (Azed) "Clever, detailed, and, above all, fun" - Simon Russell Beale "The crossword oracle - witty, wise and indispensable." - Francis When "The outstanding book about crosswords" - Sir Jeremy Morse