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.