The Dictionary of Lost Words

In 1901, the word 'Bondmaid' was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the 'Scriptorium', a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, a slip of paper containing the word 'bondmaid' flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded, or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women's experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set during the women's suffrage movement, when the fight for equal rights was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it. This poignant and inspiring tale shines a light on those who have tirelessly worked to give voice to the unheard, illuminating the enduring influence of words and the persistent effort needed to preserve and validate the myriad experiences of humanity.

With meticulous research and rich historical detail, Pip Williams crafts a compelling narrative that is not only a tribute to the power of language but also a call to acknowledge and embrace the stories of those who have been marginalised. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a captivating exploration of love, resilience, and the magic of words that beautifully encapsulates the essence of human experience and emotion.

Esme's journey is both a personal and a collective one, intersecting with the lives of remarkable women, each grappling with the boundaries imposed upon them by society. From the suffragettes fighting for their rights to the silent struggles of women whose stories remained untold, this novel is a powerful ode to the women who dared to believe their words mattered.