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Book Summary and Reviews of The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

The Queen's Gambit

by Walter Tevis

  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • Jan 1983, 243 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Engaging and fast-paced, this gripping coming-of-age novel of chess, feminism, and addiction speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four. Now a highly acclaimed, award-winning Netflix series.

Eight year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is, until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. 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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Compelling... . A magnificent obsession." —Los Angeles Times

"It's advisable to tape your fingers before opening The Queen's Gambit. Otherwise, the suspense may bring on nail-chewing right to the elbow." —Houston Chronicle

This information about The Queen's Gambit was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Walter Tevis

Walter Tevis was an English literature professor at Ohio University. He is the author of seven books, including three that were the basis of major motion pictures: The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Hustler, and The Color of Money. His other books include Mockingbird, Far From Home, and The Steps of the Sun. He died in 1984.

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