The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Do men and women see and speak and write the same words but use a different context. This is a really good read a mixture of fact and fiction woven tightly together and in perfect harmony.Esme has been in the Oxford Scriptorium all her life from a little girl under the table to a full member of the team. Sir James Murray was the editor of the first Oxford English Dictionary. But does he and the men in his team always accept and reject words to be included based on male dominated classic text or on the everyday language of the people. Fascinating insight into words and language. But also a lovely story.

The story bridges the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century. It centres on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, but is also set in the context of the Suffragette movement and the First World War.The story is reasonable and well written. However the style is very much 21st century and imposes a 21st century manner of speaking and thinking on 20th century characters.

Oh how this beautiful tale weaves fact with fiction. Books that give real people and events a back story is truly captivating, mixing reality with the imagination of how things could have been. The story of a little girl who grows up captured by words and how they affect her whole life and that of those around her. What a truly lovely story.

A fascinating and unusual theme interwoven with attitudes of the time. An enjoyable and easy read. A strong feminist angle.

The Dictionary of Lost Words is an exceptional book of rare beauty. Every sentence is crafted with care, the characters are so real you can almost feel them sitting beside you. Pip Williams has succeeded in taking the reader on an historical journey of the written word. A masterpiece!

This book not only takes you back into last century but also gives you a glimpse into an unacknowledged world of words- both the collection and attribution of words and their meanings and their presentation to us through the accepted authority of a Dictionary but also how those very attributions and descriptions shape our conception and understanding of the world we are in. The book is written in the words of the central character giving it a feel of authenticity and reality and allowing the reader to share in her perceptions. Although it is historical in that it is set in the past it is nonetheless relevant today in drawing our attention to how language is derived from and shaped by social norms and conventions. The book takes a while to get into its stride but is worth the effort.

I can’t remember where or when I first heard about this book but it’s been on my Kindle for a while. I was spinning through my Kindle books looking for a potluck read and I landed on ‘The Dictionary of Lost Words’. I had no real expectations; the cover looked super cute but I am not a lover of books about books or bookshops so I wasn’t sure what I would think about this one.The story bridges the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century and it centres on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, but is also set in the context of the Suffragette movement and the First World War. This story describes a garden shed in Oxford where real life lexicographer, James Murray, built a Scriptorium where he and his team of scholars worked on amassing words and definitions. The fictional part of this story centres around Esme, whose father is widowed at Esme's birth. Esme's father is a member of Murphy's team and he brings Esme to work with him each day. As a youngster, Esme spends time under the big table of the workers and often gathers discarded word slips and hides them away in a chest in the room of house servant Lizzie. Lizzie, although just eight years older than Esme, is a combination of mother, companion, and maid to Esme, especially once Esme is banished from the Scriptorium for interfering with the work there. Over time, Esme puts together an unofficial dictionary of all the words that she gathers from the discards of the Scriptorium and from women and poor people of Oxford. Words that wouldn't be considered for the Oxford English Dictionary because they are just spoken, not written (since they are used by people who would never learn to write) and words that are considered too crude or offensive to be included in the dictionary.It never occurred to me all that went into compiling early dictionaries and I was swept away by this story in the beginning. I loved Esme as a child, she had a natural curiosity and the writing really made me feel that I understood her and her views. I really enjoyed the characters in the book, especially Esme’s father, Lizze and Ditte; they all felt so real to me and I loved the care and support they offered Esme. I did feel that the book lost its way and really slowed down in the middle and towards the end though. There were a couple of events that happened that felt really predictable and this let the story down for me a bit. I did enjoy the ending and felt it was wrapped up nicely but the middle part made the book feel a bit too long.Overall, a good read with nice characters but just a bit let down by the middle but I look forward to reading more by Pip Williams in the future.

This book has enchanted me and taken my thinking about how words and their meanings to women can differ so much from men’s. The fictional characters story reflects how women lives changed and stayed the same as the 20 th century began.So pleased there’s more from this author.

A satisfying work which opens a window into understanding words, the OED and the exclusion of women and ordinary folk from ‘approved’ language. A good read!

Just a great read with some history attached to it.

An amazing story of real life and the poetry that slips between. Subtle in revealing that many ways we exclude people. Powerful emotional.

Très bien

Anyone who likes historical fiction or is in love with words, should read this book. It's well-researched and easily absorbs you.