THE DICTIONARY PEOPLE

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN S PRIZE FOR NON FICTION 2024 Enthralling and exuberant Here is a wonder book for word lovers Jeanette Winterson A lively entertaining and illuminating read I loved it Susie Dent What do three murderers Karl Marx s daughter and a vegetarian vicar have in common They all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary has long been associated with elite institutions and Victorian men But the Dictionary didn t just belong to the experts it relied on contributions from members of the public By 1928 its 414 825 entries had been crowdsourced from a surprising and diverse group of people from astronomers to murderers naturists pornographers suffragists and queer couples Lexicographer Sarah Ogilvie dives deep into previously untapped archives to tell a people s history of the OED Here she reveals for the first time the full story of the making of one of the most famous books in the world and celebrates the extraordinary efforts of the Dictionary People A Financial Times TLS and Daunt Books Book of the Year 2023 Utterly fascinating entertaining astonishing and as clever as a box of monkeys I completely love it Joanna Lumley Full marks to Sarah Ogilvie guaranteed to grab