The writing of the Oxford English Dictionary - nonfiction and historical fiction

 

The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester

The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams

Oxford English Dictionary “OED” First Edition – 70 years to produce, 12 volumes, completed 1928 Second Edition – 20 volumes, completed 1978
The Professor and the Madman – nonfiction	The Dictionary of Lost Words – historical fiction
James Murray – first editor Left school at age 14 - self-taught First lecture “Reading, Its’ Pleasures and Advantages” Interested in phonetics – symbols used to represent speech sounds in a language   Ada – second wife 11 children   Scriptorium – shed in back of home to work on dictionary   Bondmaid – only word lost   William Minor Surgeon, former military in America Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Broadmoor   George Merrett – killed by Minor Eliza Merrett – widow	Esme Nicoll Da – father  Lily – mother, deceased Megan – Esme’s daughter, adopted by Phillip and Sarah   Edith Thompson “Ditte” – godmother Elizabeth “Beth” – sister, A Dragoon’s Wife, 1907   Provided spoken words: Mrs. Ballard – cook Lizzie – servant Mabel O’Shaughnessy – market stall Tilda Taylor – actress, suffragette Bill – Tilda’s brother, Megan’s father   Scriptorium Dr. James Murray, editor Da – Mr. Harry Nicoll Murray daughters: Elsie, Rosfrith   Oxford University Press Mr. Hart – “Hart’s Rules,” In charge of printing dictionary Gareth Owen – compositor   Old Ashmolean – Dictionary Room – August 1901 Mr. Bradley – second editor Mr. Craigie – third editor Eleanor Bradley   Bondmaid – word that fell under table and was rescued by Esme

For Discussion:

The Professor and the Madman

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       Murray’s goal was to include all words written down, when written first, and a “passage quoted from literature that showed where each word was used first” (page 105).   That was followed by “sentence that show the twists and turns of meaning” (page 105).  Can you imagine undertaking such a task?

2.       Did you like the format of the book? 

a.       Beginning each chapter with a word and definition pertinent to that chapter.

b.       Ending the book explaining why the book is dedicated to George Merrett.

3.       Do you think Murray would have accepted Minor’s help if he knew the situation?  

4.       Minor contacted the victim’s widow and she agreed to visit him as well as accept money from him.   Were you surprised that she agreed to see him?  

 

 

The Dictionary of Lost Words

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

5. Which characters did you particularly like, or dislike?  How well did the author bring them to life?
6. Discuss Lizzie and Mabel O’Shaughnessy.  Lizzie told Esme, “Nothing I ever said has been written down” (page 103).  How did it make them feel when Esme wrote down what they said?  Also, Lizzie said she did needlepoint because “it proves I exist…Everything I do gets eaten, dirtied or burned – at the end of the day there’s no proof I’ve been here at all” (page 33).  Do you think someone could have those feelings today?
7. When Esme thinks about her daughter, the words “Her” and “She” are capitalized.  What did that signify?
8. At the end of the book, Esme and Lizzie took Women’s Words and Their Meanings to show Mr. Madden at the Bodleian Library.  Even in 1915 he told her the book was “of no scholarly importance” (page 338).  Esme replied, “It fills a gap in knowledge, and surely that is the purpose of scholarship” (page 338).  Were you surprised that nothing had changed since 1887?
9. What did you learn from this book about the evolution of women’s roles in the early 1900’s?  How important was the inclusion of women’s suffrage to the story of the dictionary?

 

 

10. Did reading this book make you think about words differently?
1. Page 89 – words only included in dictionary “if someone great had written them down.”
2. Page 127 – words “change as they are passed from mouth to mouth; their meanings stretch or truncate to fit what needs to be said.”
3. Page 129 – “A vulgar word, well placed and said with just enough vigor, can express far more that its polite equivalent.”
4. Page 181 – regarding swear words, “They are like bullets, full of energy, and when you give one breath you can feel its sharp edge against your lip.  It can be quite cathartic in the right context.”

 

From both books:

11. How does the way people speak and the words they use influence how you regard them?
12. These books presented two different narratives about the writing of the OED.   Did reading one make you want to read the other?  
13. Every year the OED adds words that have been adopted in our general conversation.   For 2023 some of the words are Krampus, flirtiness, dockie, figuralism, jailable, and live-fire.   They also updated the meaning of words such as curtsy, deprive, six-pack, flirtish.  What would James Murray think about this practice?