{"product_id":"2026100009794-secondhand-the-chess-players","title":"The Chess Players","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: 1st uk ed.,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Fair\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet against the rich, magnolia-scented backdrop of antebellum New Orleans, The Chess Players chronicles the remarkable true story of Paul Morphy, the Louisiana-born prodigy who rose to become the undisputed chess champion of the world — only to retreat into a life of elegant, tortured obscurity. Frances Parkinson Keyes reconstructs Morphy's extraordinary journey with meticulous historical detail, from the genteel drawing rooms of the American South to the grand chess clubs of Europe, weaving a narrative that is as much a portrait of a vanishing civilization as it is the biography of a singular, tragic genius.\n\nKeyes brings her signature gift for lush, immersive storytelling to bear on themes of ambition, identity, mental fragility, and the burden of extraordinary talent — asking, with quiet but devastating force, what becomes of a man when the world's greatest game can no longer contain his restless mind. Her prose is stately and evocative, commanding the reader's attention across continents and decades with the authority of a grandmaster moving pieces across a board. For lovers of richly researched historical fiction, The Chess Players presents an unforgettable portrait of brilliance on the precipice of madness — a story whose final move lingers long after the last page is turned.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203285721307,"sku":"2026100009794-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/10d525b1-4828-47e1-b6a6-62f968065b40.png?v=1788147567","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100009794-secondhand-the-chess-players","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}