BOOK REVIEW
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Author: Pip Williams
In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others – that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.
This story is part fiction, part non-fiction, expertly told by Australian author, Pip Williams. Some of the men who were involved in this first publication and are featured in this story, are revealed in black and white photographs which the author has included in her novel.
The fiction part of the story follows Esme’s loving relationship with her father, her maid/confidante who has been by her side since the death of her mother and her future husband. She is also befriended by an actress who is very much involved in the Suffragette movement and Esme is encouraged by her to join their ranks. While Esme is sympathetic to their cause she is hesitant to do so.
The onset of the Great War brings many changes, but as the lexicographers, in the main, are of an age where they are not eligible to be enlisted, work continues.
I found this story to be a fascinating and informative account of a time in history which has so much relevance today. It is a book I would read again. The author has very cleverly woven these two areas of writing into a wonderful account of the ‘beginnings’ of the Oxford English Dictionary.
ROSALIE HOWARTH
Author: Pip Williams
In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others – that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.
This story is part fiction, part non-fiction, expertly told by Australian author, Pip Williams. Some of the men who were involved in this first publication and are featured in this story, are revealed in black and white photographs which the author has included in her novel.
The fiction part of the story follows Esme’s loving relationship with her father, her maid/confidante who has been by her side since the death of her mother and her future husband. She is also befriended by an actress who is very much involved in the Suffragette movement and Esme is encouraged by her to join their ranks. While Esme is sympathetic to their cause she is hesitant to do so.
The onset of the Great War brings many changes, but as the lexicographers, in the main, are of an age where they are not eligible to be enlisted, work continues.
I found this story to be a fascinating and informative account of a time in history which has so much relevance today. It is a book I would read again. The author has very cleverly woven these two areas of writing into a wonderful account of the ‘beginnings’ of the Oxford English Dictionary.
ROSALIE HOWARTH
