Imprint: Chatto & Windus
Published: 08/04/2021
ISBN: 9781784743864
Length: 432 Pages
Dimensions: 242mm x 38mm x 160mm
Weight: 665g
RRP: £14.99
Discover the internationally bestselling debut, SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION
'If you only read one book this year, let it be this one!' FIVE STAR NETGALLEY READER REVIEW
'An extraordinary, charming novel... Williams pins a whole, rich life to the page' The Times
In 1901, the word 'bondmaid' was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.
Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word 'bondmaid' flutter to the floor unclaimed.
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. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
PRAISE FOR THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS
'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
'A brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound' Jacqueline Wilson
'I absolutely loved this book! Thought-provoking, touching and subtly romantic; I finished it in tears' Katie Fforde
MORE FIVE STAR NETGALLEY READER REVIEWS
'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'
Imprint: Chatto & Windus
Published: 08/04/2021
ISBN: 9781784743864
Length: 432 Pages
Dimensions: 242mm x 38mm x 160mm
Weight: 665g
RRP: £14.99
An extraordinary, charming novel... Williams pins a whole, rich life to the page
Poignant, perfectly paced... a beautifully nuanced work
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
A gorgeous, unique read
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
A brilliant book about women and words - tender, moving and profound
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
I absolutely loved this book! Thought-provoking, touching and subtly romantic; I finished it in tears
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
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