Histfic set in Oxford – the Dictionary of Lost Words Pip Williams

Submitted: 19th March 2021

A mystery of words – the Oxford Dictionary

Histfic set in Oxford – the Dictionary of Lost Words Pip Williams – Have you ever thought about how the dictionary came to be? Who decided which words to put in and why? How the work was actually done and by whom?

This novel takes that idea and places a young woman at the heart of it. The author Pip Williams says that she wanted to highlight and explore the ignored contribution of woman in what was the biggest undertaking of its time. One woman went that bit further….this is her story.

BookTrail the locations in The Dictionary of Lost Words

Setting: an insight into how the Oxford Dictionary came to be.

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A novel to take you back to the time when the Oxford Dictionary came to be.

A novel about words, a dictionary, people collecting words, spending time in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and Oxford University Press ? Well, yes please. Bring it on.

If I could go back in time, this is one of the times I would pick. Imagine being there in a place called The Scriptorium, colleting words to go in a giant book? the book in question of course was the Oxford Dictionary and creating it was a colossal task. Plenty of women were involved, and had major roles, but history ignored them. This is their story…

BookTrail the locations in The Dictionary of Lost Words

The setting was amazing. I want to visit the Scriptorium. This is the grand name of the place where the dictionary first came into the world. In reality, it was little more than a shed in the editor’s back garden. In addition, however, there was a second office at the Old Ashmolean museum. Quite honestly, it was fascinating to read about the work these women did, checking, editing, and compiling the words and quotes ready for inclusion. I have a new found respect for dictionaries

Esme is the fictional character who embodies all of these woman and more. She collects words that have been discarded or lost from her father’s desk in the Scriptorium. And so begins her love affair of words as she realises what they mean, how important they are, and why certain words which are important to women are not being included….

She starts to work collecting words and helping get the forgotten or lost words into the dictionary. Cleverly, women who existed in real life are characters in the book and they help her. This is a fascinating account of a real life event.

I found the entire story fascinating and really immersive. What a world the author has recreated. A world of words no less!

I shall imagine myself in the Scriptorium for the next few days.