The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

Bookbinder-website-asset

Extracts

Extract: The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

Vintage-14.11.221534

Recommendations

Powerful stories that make great gifts

Jackets of Vintage debut novels tiled against a grey background

Vintage_2021_debuts_1800X1200.jpg

Reading lists

5 debut novels we adored this year

A collection of debut novels, viewed from the side, on a blue background

Penguin20-20XMAS20best20debuts20for20christmas-Main.jpg

Features

Amazing debuts you may have missed this year

An illustration of two women surrounding the words 'Bitter barren women'

main-Feminism20Dictionary-1800×1200.jpg

What the dictionary can tell us about feminism

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK

The Dictionary of Lost Words

'An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory 
 
Sometimes you have to start with what's lost to truly find yourself... 
 
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood at her father's feet as he and his team gather words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. 
 
One day, she sees a slip of paper containing a forgotten word flutter to the floor unclaimed. 
 
And so Esme begins to collect words for another dictionary in secret: The Dictionary of Lost Words. But to do so she must journey into a world on the cusp of change as the Great War looms and women fight for the vote. Can the power of lost words from the past finally help her make sense of her future? 
 
'A brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound' Jacqueline Wilson 
 
Readers LOVE The Dictionary of Lost Words: 
 
'If you only read one book this year, let it be this one!' 
'If you're a fan of The Binding and The Betrayals you will surely love this' 
'A glorious combination of words, growing up, friendship, love, feminism and so much more' 
'The best love letter to words and language' 
'This book broke my heart ... I highly recommend it to any historical fiction fans ... it's one I will be reading again'

A brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound

An extraordinary, charming novel... Williams pins a whole, rich life to the page

Poignant, perfectly paced... a beautifully nuanced work

I absolutely loved this book! Thought-provoking, touching and subtly romantic; I finished it in tears

Williams's satisfying novel animates a fascinating history and imbues it with a feminist slant, asking how words mean different things to men and women

This lovely slice of historical fiction... A highly enjoyable resonant tale about the hidden and frequently gendered stories behind the words we take for granted

A captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded

This immersive, scrupulously researched debut provides poignant commentary on the ownership of language

An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language, what gets recorded and what gets forgotten. Set at a time when women's voices were clamouring more than ever to be heard, it moved me greatly to think how history is skewed by those who hold power -- and how important it is that novels like this redress that balance

Elizabeth Macneal, author or The Doll Factory

What a novel of words, their adventure and their capacity to define and, above all, challenge the world. There will not be this year a more original novel published. I just know it

Inspired by a wisp of fact - a single word accidentally omitted from the Oxford English Dictionary - Pip Williams has spun a marvelous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress. This is a novel that brings to light not only lost words, but the lost stories of women's lives. It is at once timely and timeless.

In the annals of lexicography, no more imaginative, delightful, charming and clever book has yet been written. And if by writing it Pip Williams has gently rapped my knuckles for wrongly supposing that only white English men led the effort to corral and codify our language, then I happily accept the scolding. Her wonderfully constructed story has helped entirely change my mind.

Simon Winchester, author of The Surgeon of Crowthorne: a tale of murder, madness and the Oxford English Dictionary

This charming, inventive, and utterly irresistible novel is the story we all need right now. Words have never mattered more, as Pip Williams illuminates in her unforgettable debut

Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop

What a compelling, fresh look at historical women! Lyrically written... This marvellous exploration into the ways in which spoken and written language impact us is a delight and an education

Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

Williams turns history as we know it on its head in this delightful debut, spotlighting those women and their contributions, using the awe-inspiring power of words themselves to illuminate them

In Williams's exuberant, meticulously researched debut, the daughter of a lexicographer devotes her life to an alternative dictionary... Deeply satisfying. Williams's feminist take on language will move readers

The Herculean efforts required to assemble the Oxford English Dictionary are retold, this time from a fictionalized, distaff point of view, in Williams' debut novel. ...Underlying this panoramic account are lexicographical and philosophical interrogatives: Who owns language, does language reflect or affect, who chooses what is appropriate, why is one meaning worthier than another, what happens when a word mutates in meaning? ...The result is a satisfying amalgam of truth and historical fiction

Do words mean different things to men and women? That is the question at the heart of Williams' thoughtful and gentle first novel based on original research in the Oxford English Dictionary archives... A lexicographer's dream of a novel, this is a lovely book to get lost in, an imaginative love letter to dictionaries

[The Dictionary of Lost Words] was so excellent, and is the story we all need right now. Shining on important light on the lost stories of women's lives, it was hugely thought-provoking

Enchanting, sorrowful, and wonderfully written, the book is a one-of-a-kind celebration of languageand its importance in our lives. A must-have

The Dictionary of Lost Words concerns itself with the gaps between the lines of the dominant male narrative, choosing instead the usually overlooked, everyday language of ordinary women. It's a masterfully written, beautiful first novel that tells a fascinating story of language, love and loss

An utterly compelling and beautiful story that effortlessly merges history, gender politics, love and loss. To say this book is ambitious is an understatement, but Williams delivers brilliantly, and whilst I enjoyed the story in itself, the book has prompted me to want to discover more about this history and context of the OED... Without doubt, this is my favourite book of the year so far and, I suspect, it will be in the running come the end of the year too

This thought-provoking and atmospheric novel about dictionaries will have you enthralled... A gorgeous story about women, the power of language and an insight into the work of lexicographers

Seamlessly blending fact and fiction, this is a beautifully crafted book, filled with memorable characters

Real and fictional timeliness are intertwined in this inventive new novel

An elegantly constructed love story full of memorable characters... Pippa Bennett-Warner captures them all, and her warm, slightly husky voice enhances the magic

'A really thought-provoking novel' Reese Witherspoon 
 
'An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory 
 
 
Sometimes you have to start with what's lost to truly find yourself... 
 
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood at her father's feet as he and his team gather words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. 
 
One day, she sees a slip of paper containing a forgotten word flutter to the floor unclaimed. 
 
And so Esme begins to collect words for another dictionary in secret: The Dictionary of Lost Words. But to do so she must journey into a world on the cusp of change as the Great War looms and women fight for the vote. Can the power of lost words from the past finally help her make sense of her future? 
 
Readers love The Dictionary of Lost Words: 
 
'If you only read one book this year, let it be this one!' 
 
'If you're a fan of The Binding and The Betrayals you will surely love this' 
 
'A glorious combination of words, growing up, friendship, love, feminism and so much more' 
 
'The best love letter to words and language' 
 
'This book broke my heart ... I highly recommend it to any historical fiction fans ... it's one I will be reading again'

Pip Williams

From the author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick The Dictionary of Lost Words

As World War One brings women unexpected new freedoms, bookbinder Peggy has the chance at a new future. 
 
'Vivid and moving ... I absolutely loved it!' Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost Things 
'Charming, original and beautifully researched' Rachel Hore, author of A Beautiful Spy 
 
'When the men leave for the Western Front, Peggy and her friends must shoulder the burden at home. 
 
As she moves between her narrowboat full of memories and the demands of the bookbindery where she works, Peggy’s dreams of escaping for a new life feel ever more remote. 
 
But the war brings people together in unexpected ways. New friends and lovers offer new opportunities but also present difficult choices – and Peggy must write her own story. 
 
'A fresh, exciting new voice in historical fiction' Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife 
'A compelling homage to the transformational power of books' Daisy Wood, author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris

Pip Williams

The Bookbinder of Jericho

Select a format:

Retailers:

Summary

More books from this author