Busy Reader's Book Club

The March pick, The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world. 

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. 

Stop by the circulation desk after February 7th, to grab your copy. Copies are limited, and you must be registered to pick up a copy. Call us with any questions!