But the use of one puzzle per year shows just how much this puzzle has changed over the years. I'm supposed to be very good at this game, but there are some puzzles in the first couple of decades where I'm stumped by many of the clues. Perhaps the best method is to start at the back of the book and travel gradually backwards in time, so that you begin with puzzles of a more familiar style.

Starting with the first Telegraph Cryptic Crossword from June 1925 this book races through the development of the cryptic crossword over the last 80 years - lots of entertaining, baffling and thrilling puzzles here combined with anecdote and entertaining explanations of clues. Loved it!