The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

The First Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was originally published in printed instalments known as ‘fascicles.’ The process took more than 44 years and was only completed in 1928. Various supplementary volumes were subsequently published but it wasn’t until 1989 that the Second Edition was published.

I remember the second coming very well. I’d been working at the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in London and had my name placed in a draw prior to the momentous event. The winner would take home volumes comprising the entire, new Second Edition. That winner was me and it was and is one of my most treasured possessions. No time for fascicles in my lifetime!

I was therefore drawn to this novel by Pip Williams by its title and premise of both a great work being compiled, but also a second volume comprising forgotten words or those that were rejected variously as ‘slang’ or merely words that ‘women would use’ in a period in history where the compilers and decision makers were, of course, men. Words had to have appeared in written form, researched and verified, and thus the gaps that our lead character Esme felt compelled to fill from the nation’s oral traditions.

I found Esme’s character entirely believable and was captivated by the charming way she interacted with her father – Da – and the maid Lizzie. Through these relationships we learn much of lost love, limited ambition and an acceptance of a male-dominated status quo which is ultimately tested by the Suffragette Movement itself. Words lead to actions and actions lead to many more words.

The Great War plays a huge part in the process for both the Oxford environment in which the book is so beautifully placed, as well as those who left it, never to return. I did think that there would have been more historical references, not only angst over the build-up to the war, but also the death of the Queen which must have had a massive impact on these late-Victorian men and the standards they held so highly.

I also didn’t really enjoy the ending of the book. I got it, but it somehow didn’t complete the circle of this story’s life.
​
Overall though I thought this was a wonderful read that drew me into a world that I had known nothing about when those sumptuous new volumes arrived on my doorstep.

---