Book Review: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

The Dictionary of Lost Words
by
Pip Williams

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I had never thought about how the first Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the main dictionary of the English language, came to be. Although lexicographers began work on the dictionary in 1857, the first unbound sections were not published until 1884. These sections, called fascicles, became available in serial format as lexicographers worked their way through the alphabet. There have been many subsequent versions of the dictionary. You can read more here.

The Dictionary of Lost Words, historical fiction, begins with Esme Nicoll, the young daughter of one of the lexicographers. Harry Nicoll works for Dr. James Murray, the primary editor of the dictionary during that time. They all work in the Scriptorium, a shed that Murray built on the grounds of his home on Banbury Road in Oxford. Although Esme and Harry are fictional characters, Murray and others are historical figures.

Dr. James Murray in the Scriptorium (Wikipedia)

Esme, whose mother has died, grows up in this world of words, created by highly educated and respected contributors. Most of them are men, but some are women, including Edith Thompson and her sister, Ellen Perronet Thompson, also historical figures. Edith and her sister are strong supporters of women’s suffrage and host gatherings of thinkers. In this story, Edith is Esme’s aunt. Murray’s eleven children also help with the dictionary, especially his older daughters.

When Esme is little, she spends her days sitting under the lexicographers’ work table, picking up stray slips of discarded or forgotten words. She begins to collect them and, as a young woman, expands her collection to include common words that have been previously unrecorded. These are words she hears from Lizzie, the Murray family’s maid, as well as from some colorful words at the village marketplace.

As work progresses on the dictionary, Esme begins to experience the world. Raised to be a self-thinker, she must decide what her role will be in the growing women’s movement, as there are many degrees of activism during this period, some of them violent. A romantic relationship also creates problems, as does the beginning of World War I.

I enjoyed learning about how the OED was created. So many slips of paper and so many arguments about whether a word should be included and what it meant! And a lot of this was done by mail. What a huge undertaking with no technology. Very impressive.

I thought the storyline was just okay, although the pace picked up in the second half and kept me going. All in all, I am glad I read it because I learned a lot. And my book club had a great discussion!

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