A Quick Note On This Review: This article includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org as a way of supporting both local bookshops and my own ability to write.
Words are the very foundation of Esme’s life. A girl born to a widower lexicographer on the team that assembled the Oxford English Dictionary, Esme spends much of her childhood in a garden shed in Oxford – affectionately referred to as “The Scriptorium” and the place where the lexicographers work to assemble the ultimate reference book of the English language – and from beneath the sorting table she rescues “bondmaid.” Learning that the word refers to a slave girl, Esme spends the rest of her life attempting to rescue the words of women and the common people by compiling her own Dictionary of Lost Words.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams is a fascinating historical novel that shows that everything – no matter how mundane it may seem – has a story worth telling. On finishing the novel, it’s difficult to place what exactly about it conjured the feeling of enjoyment, because its premise seems like it would fit within a very niche subset of literature enjoyed by a relatively small audience. However, after finishing the novel, there’s a sense that the reason why it sticks out is that the style is deeply understated and that can make it easy to overlook.
Esme’s adventures as she grows up around her father’s work in the Scriptorium is much the same as any story that includes a girl growing into a young woman in a historical novel. There are forays into romance, a focus on work, and meditations on her place in the world that borders on the obvious if one reads enough. However, when examined from a holistic perspective, there’s a sense that Esme’s appearance of being a run-of-the-mill character is precisely the point, because it culminates in her creating a dictionary of everyday words that flies in the face of the accepted dictionary and challenging the notion that anyone can truly control something as everyday and democratic as language.
Of course, the focus of the narrative on the everyday tasks that often overshadow our aspirations to higher, more meaningful work could put off readers who aren’t interested in such intellectual stories. However, those who do prefer stories that delve into abstract concepts such as language and the meaning behind everyday labors of love could find Williams’s The Dictionary of Lost Words to be an intriguing read that fits within their wheelhouse. Additionally, given the components of female friendship and father-daughter bonds, those who enjoy stories around these ideas could also enjoy Esme’s story.
For writers, The Dictionary of Lost Words would be useful in understanding how to write a story so that it builds slowly to a major insight. The understated style would help provide a template that could be emulated, especially if the writer plans on writing a story based in history. However, I would probably recommend that writers don’t stop with Williams’s work; augmenting one’s reading with Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, Ngi Vo’s work, or The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry would help give additional tools to keep the audience’s attention, even if the ultimate goal is to communicate some deeper insight.
If you’re interested in reading the book and want to support local bookstores as well as my work, consider using this affiliate link: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
What’s Next?
I am an avid reader and have quite a few thoughts on how some books could benefit both people that want to be entertained and those looking to sharpen their literary skills.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I’ve been reading – and how it could benefit you – I will be publishing those thoughts on Fridays on a weekly basis. Check back next week for a discussion of Nghi Vo’s The Chosen and the Beautiful!
The Writerly Review 