Pattern in the Carpet（ISBN=9780547386096）

　　The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws is an original and brilliant work. Margaret Drabble weaves her own story into a history of games, in particular jigsaws, which have offered her and many others relief from melancholy and depression. Alongside curious facts and discoveries about jigsaw puzzles--did you know that the 1929 stock market crash was followed by a boom in puzzle sales?--Drabble introduces us to her beloved Auntie Phyl, and describes childhood visits to the house in Long Bennington on the Great North Road, their first trip to London together, the books they read, and the jigsaws they completed. She offers penetrating sketches of her parents, siblings, and children, and shares her thoughts on the importance of childhood play, on art and writing, and on aging and memory. And she does so with her customary intelligence, energy, and wit. This is a memoir like no other. --A New York Times Book Review Editors'Choice.

　　Margaret Drabble was born in Sheffield, England, in 1939 and studied English at Cambridge University. She is the author of many novels including THE SEA LADY, THE PEPPERED MOTH, THE SEVEN SISTERS, and THE NEEDLE'S EYE.  She has written biographies and studies of Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, and Arnold Bennett, and she is he editor of The Oxford Companion to English Literature. She lives in London, England.