Roaring Spring Public Library

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams is a pleasure to read. This wonderful piece of historical fiction pulled me in, and I found myself unable to put it down. The novel compels the reader to understand the trials of bringing the first Oxford English Dictionary to life through the eyes of Esme. She is a motherless child whose father is a lexicographer for the OED and is confined to play under the sorting table where the team disseminate the words. As we grow up with Esme, we see the real historical life events (the suffrage movement, WW1 and the place of women in society) that influence her desire to see words from the everyday folk also make it into the dictionary. Recognizing that both men and women should contribute words and definitions to the OED, Esme makes it her mission to rescue the words that get cut simply because they are not written down or considered vulgar. Ms. Williams keen insight into the contributions of women to the dictionary is refreshing and the few documented women of the OED make their appearance in the novel too. Many of the characters are charming and the story is intriguing, I look forward to reading another novel by Pip Williams.