Monday, April 12, 2010

Westing Game Treasure Trove


For all you Westing Game junkies (the 1979 Newbery Medal winner), this post is for you!

Ellen Raskin, author of The Westing Game, very graciously donated all her early writings, thoughts, editor's notes and musings about her wonderful book for all the world to enjoy.They are housed in Wisconsin, but nearly everything is available online.

If you haven't yet read The Westing Game, pick up a copy and settle in. It's an amazing ride. For me, it was the bridge that connected the incessant playing of the board game *Clue* with my brothers to reading the wonderful world of mystery-genre novels.

The nutshell version with no spoilers goes like this: The sixteen heirs of magnate Sam Westing were all called upon at the reading of his will to unravel the secret of his death. They all lived together at the Sunset Tower and were given $10,000 just to play the game, with the hopes of solving the mystery and ultimately winning $2 million dollars.

I haven't read this wonderful book for several decades, but I remember loving young teenage Turtle and her skillful ability to deduce logical conclusions from the evidence.There was a lot to love (and hate) about the other 15 players too, but young Turtle sticks out in my mind.

When you visit this site you will see the extravaganza of fun:  copies of early drafts,  later copies of final manuscripts, working notes, book design and even an audio-tape of Ellen herself talking you through all her stuff. A treasure trove for book-nerds and writers alike! Awesome!

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