Everybody knows (or ought to know) of the meteoric career of Paul Morphy, who vanquished the mighty paladins of chess and became the first uncrowned champion of the world. And everyone enjoys (or ought to enjoy) the games, the men and the scene when Morphy reigned supreme. Add to this the background the charm and the piquancy of William Napier's pen, and an era is reborn that is dear to the hearts and minds of all lovers of chess.
This work spans roughly the period from the middle 1800s to the early 1900s including choice morsels extending slightly beyond the fingers in each direction so that even Capablanca and grandmasters of his day are set off in focus against the distant horizons of the earlier period.
Napier is supreme in bringing to life the chess giants of his time, relating their human foibles and peccadillos and even their cardinal sins yet all in a spirit of veneration as though these were the mighty indeed. He makes his time seem what in fact it may have been the Golden Age of Chess.
Napier's chess was always on a high plane. In 1902 he won the brilliance prize at Monte Carlo. And in 1904 he took premier honors at London ahead of Teichman, Blackburne and Gunsberg.
Chess was never extracurricular with Napier, for it is no easy matter to subdue such a passion. It left room, however for the amenities of life. Napier was at one time a reporter, later an actuary and vice-president of the Scranton Life Insurance Company. He died on 6 September 1952 in Washington, D.C.
