Australia in 100 Words

Amanda Laugesen in Australia in 100 Words uses a selection of words and terms that help tell the story of Australia and its language. Choosing one hundred words would not have been an easy task but the author provides us with a broad selection of words and terms, including words from Indigenous languages, that are part of the Australian culture and conversation, past and present.

Several pages describe each of the words or terms selected describing the contexts in which the words over time have been used and other similar words. Together the words and terms demonstrate how language in this country has evolved. A good book to dip into.

The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A tale of murder, madness and the Oxford English Dictionary

In the notes at the back of the novel, Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams the author mentions that one of the books that inspired her to write her novel was the non-fiction work, The Surgeon of Crowthorne, by Simon Winchester written in 1998 (reprinted in 2008).

First discussions about the possible creation of a new dictionary occurred at a meeting of the Philological Society of London in 1859. It was not until 1879 that an agreement was reached with Oxford University Press to publish the new scholarly work.The dictionary was published in fascicles then volumes with the volume ten of the first edition published in 1928. Supplements were gradually published and incorporated into a twenty volume second edition of the dictionary in 1989. Other versions of the dictionary have susequently been published and the OED is now available online.

The creation of this mammoth work was to a large extent dependent on thousands of volunteers reading selected books, compiling quotations from publications showing the use of words and sending the information on slips of paper to the editor of dictionary.

This book tells the story of the work involved in compiling entries for the dictionary concentrating on contributions made by Dr William Chester Minor, an American who ended up serving time in an English psychiatric hospital from 1872 to 1910. As well as providing a glimpse into the life of Dr Minor, the book also provides information about Dr James Murray who edited the dictionary for many years and who sometimes visited Dr Minor. Information is also provided about pyschiatric illness and treatment at the time as the author tries to discover why Dr Minor became the man he was.

Additional information:

History of the OED - OED website

The sad life of William Chester Minor - Vintage News

The Dictionary of Lost Words

This is a book about words. Words that formed the Oxford English Dictionary created between 1857 when a meeting of the Philological Society proposed a new dictionary of the English language and 1928 when volume 12 was published. The production of the twelve volumes was largely the work of a men though a few women were granted permission to assist. Not surpisingly the decision to accept words and their definitions omitted many words used by women.

Pip Williams incorporates names of people and events relating to the creation of the dictionary into her novel which recounts the life of a family involved in working at the Scriptorium, one of the locations in Oxford where suggested terms for the dictionary were evaluated.

Esme, who is six when the novel begins, spends part of each day playing under the table in the Scriptorium while her father and the other men go about their work. Esme develops a love for words and eventually becomes a member of the dictionary team. However, over time, Esme realises the necessity to also collect current words, used largely by women of the lower classes, which have not made it into literature but are equally important as part of the English language. She keeps a collection of these words with their definitions and quotations and eventually they form a dictionary of lost words.

The time period in the novel covers the endeavours of the suffragists and the suffragets to gain the vote for all women in England which is not achieved until 1928. The First World War also looms largely in the second part of the novel. The book is also a study of attitudes of men towards women and the attempts of some women to overcome these attitudes. The book also reflects on the class structure early in the twentieth century as well as being a story of love and relationships.

This beautifully written book provides a celebration of words which will cause the reader to consider the evolution of language over time and the need for inclusiveness of language. 

This was a Monash University Alumni Book Club Book in 2023.