The Lewis Chessmen: What Happened to Them

by Irving Finkel

From their discovery on a desolate beach in 1831, the ivory chessman from the Isle of Lewis have exercised a particular fascination. This text describes the turbulent lives of the chess pieces from their own point of view. A 60-minute reading of the book is included, with a chessman character.

Genres: Childrens, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Irving Leonard Finkel, Ph.D. (Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1976; B.A., Ancient
New Eastern Studies, University of Birmingham, 1969), is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He has served as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum since 1979. As such, he is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection—some 130,000 pieces—of any modern museum. He also is an author of fiction for children, and in 2007 co-founded The Great Diary Project.

Reviews

[Jeffry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit korte verhaal brengt de middeleeuwse schaakstukken tot leven!

[Bobbelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, listened to it in the car as an audio piece. Beautifully written using the imagination to create real-life characters out of the chess pieces/ players and yet poignant at the same time. Loved the music soundtrack too.

[Manuel Meewezen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly lovely short story by my favorite curator of my favorite chesspieces. Mr. Finkel, thank you very much!

[Tiago André · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a children's book it sure has a unnecessarily complicated language, with unique story telling that just isn't for me. I did enjoy the history aspect, though, making it clear of the long arduous journey that the Lewis Chessmen had.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing illustration. The sketchy etches are cartoonily expressive and look like they're all being viewed through driving rain (appropriate). I didn't know the story and it's nice to learn a wee bit about Scottish history but it was rather patronising and rather full of the word rather. It's meant for kids though so maybe this is harsh.

Also, I didn't get a cassette OR a chessman! But I did get it for free so that might have something to do with it.

[Linda Dielemans]

Cute, short read aimed at children who've seen the Lewis Chessmen at the museum and want to know a bit more about how they got there.