The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams is a wonderful novel based on the writing of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the real women who worked on it but went largely un-credited. Set in Oxford at the Scriptorium, Esme grows up amidst words and definitions, as defined by men, while she sees the words pertaining to women and the poorer classes often discarded.

As she gets older, she starts actively collecting these words from women and common folk in the market and keeps them hidden in a trunk which she labels The Dictionary of Lost Words. Set in the early 1900’s, Williams shows how language – written, spoken, and often denied, can shape our way of thinking and the very way we see ourselves and our place in the world. Deeply researched, this a wonderful and thought-provoking piece of historical fiction; it is a love story to the power of words and language. Highly recommended.