The Curious History of the Riddle: Solve over 250 Riddles, from the Riddle of the Sphinx to Harry Potter

by Marcel Danesi

Part history book, part puzzle book, The Curious History of the Riddle is fully illustrated with over 250 riddles interspersed throughout the text for solving, so get ready to put on your thinking cap!

The Curious History of the Riddle investigates the fascinating origin and history of the riddle, from the very first riddle (the Riddle of the Sphinx) to the twenty-first century, with riddles found in pop culture, including movies, books, and video games. 

Riddles are ageless, timeless, and so common that we hardly ever reflect upon what they are and how they originated. Riddles come in all languages and from all eras of human history, making them a truly “curious” history. In The Curious History of the Riddle, puzzle expert Marcel Danesi delves deep into the riddle's origin and offers a concise snapshot of riddles throughout time—from the Riddle of the Sphinx, to the riddles in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, to those found in the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings book series, and much more—covering these fascinating topics:
Ancient riddles
Medieval riddles
Riddles in the Renaissance
Riddles as part of leisure culture
Riddles in literature
Riddles in popular culture
Rebuses as visual riddles


The Puzzlecraft series from Wellfleet Press tackles some of the greatest conundrums of our time. Learn how to navigate the world’s trickiest mazes, solve the most complex crosswords, and finally get the answer to “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Follow literature’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he guides you through hundreds of challenging cross-fitness brain exercises inspired by his most popular cases and adventures. You can also train your memory to perform better and learn the meanings behind your own personality traits or the traits of others. These handy and portable paperbacks are sized perfectly to travel, whether on vacation or just for your daily commute. The intricately designed covers and bold colors will capture your attention as much as the engaging content inside.
 
Other titles in the series include: The Curious History of Mazes; The Curious History of the Crossword; Escape from Sherlock Holmes; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Code Breakers; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Math & Logic Games; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Visual Puzzles; Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Lateral Brain Teasers; Solving Sherlock Homes; Solving Sherlock Holmes Volume II; Maximize Your Memory; and The Book of Personality Tests.
 

Genres: Nonfiction

152 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2020

About the author

Marcel Danesi (b. Marcello Danesi, 1946) is a current Professor of Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He is known for his work in language, communications, and semiotics; being Director of the Program in Semiotics and Communication Theory.

He has also held positions at Rutgers University (1972), The University of Rome "La Sapienza" (1988), the Catholic University of Milan (1990), and the University of Lugano.

He is the Editor-in-Chief of Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies and is a past-president of the Semiotic Society of America.

Reviews

[Ula · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 out of 5 🌟Get ready for an in-depth history of riddles

This book was different from what I thought. I was looking for some fun, quick read about the famous riddles and the history behind them but I wasn't prepared for the rather elaborated analysis of riddles for the given time period. For me 'The Curious History of the Riddle' was just tedious, I guess I don't like enigmas enough.

What I did like about this publication are clear and accessible chapters, the book is divided by the eras from ancient puzzles to pop-cultural references, plus an extra chapter about visual riddles (probably my favorite). Text is broken into smaller chunks, with a lot of riddles in-between, quotes, and images that make reading more pleasant. At the end of each chapter, it's just a bunch of riddles related to the section, and - most importantly - a full list of answers at the end.

Overall, 'The Curious History of the Riddles' is a work for hardcore enigma's fans, who don't mind digging a little deeper into lavish history records.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.*

[Laura]

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Wellfleet Press in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic walkthrough of riddling history! I have been a lifelong fan of riddles. The Riddler from Batman is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and when I was a child I had a book about dragons which had a whole section dedicated to riddles. I couldn't have been more excited when I saw this book available to request, although I was a little skeptical it had anything to offer a devout riddle fan. I couldn't have been more wrong!

This book is split up into sections, loosely arranged in chronological order and walking the reader through the oldest riddles all the way to modern day more jokey ones. I found all of the sections well-written and very informative. There are riddles within each section and then a set of riddles to solve yourself after each section, with the answers at the back. In general, these were fun but they did vary in difficulty greatly. I appreciate it's hard to control for that sort of thing but the riddles from the first two chapters were near impossible, whilst later ones verged on too easy. Sometimes the hints were too direct as well which is why I can't give this book a full 5 stars. However, the informative sections were great. I particularly enjoyed the literary riddles chapter, and the section dedicated to the Riddler (which was a fantastic surprise).

Overall, this book was insightful and easy to read. I loved learning more about riddles and their place in history, and I had fun trying to solve the riddles throughout. This book would make a fantastic present and it's the perfect kind of read to dip in and out of. I highly recommend it to all fans of riddles.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

[Daryl Hrdlicka · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the good: this is an interesting book, with riddles going back to Babylonian and Sanskrit sources. It follows the development of different riddle forms in oral and literary traditions, including enigmas, rebuses, and nonsense riddles. It is a very good overview, and has a number of riddles for the reader to solve themselves.

The bad: overall I was disappointed. The riddles range from very simple to completely unsolvable, with no rhyme or reason. There are many more riddles in the last two chapters, which makes it seem like mere padding. The author is a professor of linguistic anthropology and semiotics and definitely knows his subject, but the writing style is scholarly to the point of distraction. I found myself re-reading a number of paragraphs to grasp the meaning.

It is a good book, but I don't feel it's for a casual reader. It is better suited for scholars.

I read this book as a temporary ARC via NetGalley.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Curious History of the Riddle by Marcel Danesi is a fun and educational read. The fun lies in the riddles themselves as much as the history while the education is the connecting of things we may have known into a coherent history.

We are all familiar with riddles, in fact it appears they are as much a part of being human as anything else. Yet in contemporary times we usually think of them as a form of humor, something akin to jokes, and thus of moderate serious merit. Yet even while thinking this most of us know at least a few of the historical roots of the riddle. This book will take those scattered facts about the riddle, bring them together, and make a history that shows the value throughout time of riddles and similar metaphorical thought.

While this is a quick trip through history with the riddle as our connective thread, this never gets bogged down. There are plenty of citations if a specific period is of interest but Danesi skims across the eras so that this history remains informative and fun rather than getting too pedantic.

I highly recommend this for lovers of history, especially those who enjoy learning the history of things we know fairly well but perhaps not as well as we think. There is something here for everyone, whether you love or dread riddles.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Phillip Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like riddles even though I am kind of lousy at solving them. Riddles invite us to start guessing no matter how hard they are, and then we are eager to try them on someone else when we get the answer. They have a long history, which this book presents.

Covering riddles from ancient times to current pop culture, The Curious History of the Riddle shows where they came from and how people are drawn to them. Each chapter includes riddles, some of which can be tricky. Answers to each riddle are included at the end of the book.

This book is an interesting read. I did not realize how much history is packed into something that seems so simple. Besides learning how riddles have fit into cultures, I also have a new pool of them to try on other people.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[kepz_lovesreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a fun riddle book with a bit of history on how the riddle was created. Unfortunately this book has a whole lot of history with riddles interspersed in between and a selection of riddles at the end of each chapter. The history became overwhelming for me, it was interesting but it couldn't hold my attention and I ended up mainly focusing on the riddles. Many of the riddles are impossible to know the answers whilst others potentially have multiple answers. All of the answers were at the back of the book.
Overall this book could interest hard-core riddle fans but for the casual riddle solver the content can become overwhelming.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Quartro Publishing/Wellfleet Press for this ARC copy.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating! Riddles throughout the ages should entice all ages. I only wish the sections weren't quite so textbooky.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an Advanced Reading Copy.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of riddles. Unfortunately it was quite a slog to read despite being so thin

[Cynthia Troncquo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love riddles and hadn’t realised how much history was behind the “making” of riddles.
This book was a very interesting read. It was fun to have not only knowledge about the history of riddles, but also riddles you can solve yourself.
Accompanied with illustrations and clear historical facts, it is a good book to have in your bookshelf and help you impress your friends with witty riddles.