The Dictionary of Lost Words (Hardback)

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 A gorgeous, unique read 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 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. 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