The Queen's Gambit - Walter Tevis - 9781474600842

NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES starring Anya Taylor-Joy from Academy-Award nominee Scott Frank and BAFTA nominee Allan Scott

When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there's more at stake than merely winning and losing.

"Sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it" - Michael Ondaatje

"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" - The Telegraph