A book published in 2020, written about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, which was published between 1888 and 1928. The principal character is Esme, aged 5 when we first meet her. Various themes are woven into the story, including WW1 and its horrors, women’s suffrage, pregnancy outside marriage, giving up a baby for adoption, growing up without a mother, the plight of women in service from as young as 13, women’s place in the workplace, and how books were produced.
Our comments included:
- Easy to read- it took me a while to get into the book though.
- I didn’t realise how much work went into producing the Oxford English Dictionary – and other dictionaries. I look at words in a different way now.
- I enjoyed it – found it fascinating – loved it – thought it was well-researched.
- This book has been on my “to read” list for a long time and I’m glad I’ve read it.
- There’s a mix of actual and fictional characters, and actual and fabricated events, which works.
- Would Esme really have been allowed to be under the table in the Scriptorium, I wonder?
- Lizzie is an interesting character, in service from the age of 13, who is devoted to Esme right through the book.
- There are twists in the story line that are unexpected, though there’s some – perhaps clunky - signposting to what the story might cover, e.g. Esme meeting Bill and becoming pregnant, and later meeting Gareth at a time when WW1 was imminent.
- I wasn’t sure what to make of the journey into Esperanto.
- I liked the bit at the end with Esme’s daughter Megan and found it very sad.
Marks out of ten: 6, 7, 7.5, 8 x 4, 8.5