E. Powys Mathers

E. Powys Mathers was a British translator, poet, and puzzle-maker best known for his fiendishly difficult literary puzzle "Cain's Jawbone". Born in 1892, Mathers worked as a translator of Eastern literature and contributed to publications under the pseudonym "Torquemada," crafting cryptic crosswords for The Observer. His 1934 murder mystery puzzle novel presented readers with 100 unnumbered pages that must be rearranged to solve six intertwined murders. The puzzle's complexity stumped readers for decades, with only a handful of solutions ever submitted. Mathers died in 1939, leaving behind a legacy of intellectual challenge and literary intrigue.