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THE NOVEL BEHIND THE MAJOR GOLDEN GLOBE-WINNING NETFLIX SERIES STARRING ANYA TAYLOR-JOY
‘Superb’ Time Out
‘Mesmerizing’ Newsweek
‘Gripping’ Financial Times

‘Sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years – for the pure pleasure and skill of it’ Michael OndaatjeWhen she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings: playing chess with the janitor and taking the little green pills given to the children to keep them subdued.

Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is an unusual talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting . . .

‘Don’t pick this up if you want a night’s sleep’ Scotsman

‘Few novelists have written about genius – and addiction – as acutely as Walter Tevis’ Telegraph

Readers are raving:
‘This book is so gripping … it’s absolutely riveting’ ‘A story that just sucks you in’

‘I have read this book so many times … my favourite book of all time’

‘Tevis has a great ability to create fragile, flawed but intensely relatable characters’

‘Absolutely thrilling read, beautifully written … Every moment I wasn’t reading it I wanted to be reading it again’

‘What a unique story and heroine. A fantastic read’

Publisher Review

Walter Tevis's most consummate and heartbreaking work Tevis was a great storyteller Walter Tevis is famous for writing The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth, but this is my favorite book of his. It is about a girl who, guided by her somewhat unreliable mother, becomes a child prodigy at chess. Even if you do not know how to play chess, it is a great thriller * Literary Hub * A psychological thriller * NEW YORK TIMES * What Walter Tevis did for pool in The Hustler, he does for chess in The Queen's Gambit * PLAYBOY * More exciting than any thriller I've seen lately; more than that, beautifully written Don't pick this up if you want a night's sleep * SCOTSMAN * Mesmerizing * NEWSWEEK * The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it Gripping reading . . . Nabokov's The Defense and Zweig's The Royal Game are the classics. Now joining them is The Queen's Gambit * FINANCIAL TIMES * Superb * TIME OUT *