The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Dictionary of Lost Words follows Esme, who grows up in the Scriptorium where her father and other lexicographers work to compile the first Oxford English Dictionary. Her unique childhood spent beneath the sorting table leads her to notice the words that fall to the floor - and the ones that never make it into the dictionary at all. Set in Oxford during the height of the women's suffrage movement, the novel traces both Esme's personal journey and her mission to collect and preserve the words that matter to women. She builds her own collection of terms and definitions, focusing on the language of markets, laundries, and working-class communities that the male scholars overlook. The story spans several decades of British history, from the Victorian era through World War I. Esme's relationships with her father, her godmother Lizzie, and the servants and scholars around her shape her understanding of language and its role in society. This historical novel examines how power structures influence the preservation of language, and questions who gets to decide which words are worthy of remembrance. Through Esme's collection of lost words, Williams illuminates the connection between language, class, and gender in early twentieth-century Britain.

Readers connect with the detailed historical research and feminist themes exploring how women's words and experiences were overlooked in dictionary-making. Many appreciate the blend of fiction with real Oxford Dictionary development and suffragette movement events. Readers highlight: - Rich period details about Victorian England - Complex mother-daughter relationships - Educational aspects about lexicography - Characters that feel authentic to the era Common criticisms: - Slow pacing in the middle sections - Some find the protagonist passive - Historical facts sometimes overshadow the story - Romance subplot feels underdeveloped Ratings: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (122,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (22,000+ ratings) Book of the Month Club readers rated it among top 5 picks for 2021 Representative review: "A quiet, thoughtful book that makes you consider the power of words and who gets to define them." - Goodreads reviewer Critical review: "Beautiful premise but drags in execution. Too much telling rather than showing." - Amazon reviewer

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🔍 The Oxford English Dictionary took 70 years to complete (1857-1927), involving over 800 volunteer readers who submitted quotations. 📚 Author Pip Williams was inspired to write the novel after discovering that many women's words and experiences were excluded from early dictionaries. ✒️ The "Scriptorium" in the book was a real place - a corrugated iron building in James Murray's garden where dictionary work was conducted. 👥 The character of Esme was partly inspired by Dora Murray, daughter of the OED's editor James Murray, who worked on the dictionary from age 15. 📖 The phrase "women's words" in the novel refers to terms primarily used by women that were often considered too domestic or informal for inclusion in the original OED.