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Esme is raised by her father, a lexicographer working on the Oxford English Dictionary under editor James Murray. As a child she goes to work with her father and spends a lot of time under the work table used by the staff. Here she learns to read from the slips of paper used to record, define and provide the history of the words. Over time she comes to collect slips that get misplaced thrown out or duplicates. These words spark a curiosity about what and why some words don’t get included. Esme’s life between 1886 and 1915 is heavily involved with the OED, but also with the Suffragette Movement and WWI. Running through it all is the connections between words and their meaning related to women and class.

Extremely informative as well as a good story. Many of the characters were real people. Sparked a real interest in the topic.

I loved this too. I have her next novel to read as well but haven’t quite got to it yet

I'm in the love camp too. I'll share what I found while reading the book. Here's an article about the making of the O.E.D. complete with photos and comments by Ms. Williams, the author.

I also really enjoyed this book.

There's a nonfiction book about this The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Maybe because I had read that first, I found Dictionary of Lost Words ok but not that memorable.

Thanks for this review Linda. I’m going to bump it up my list. Surprisingly (or not), it has 5+ “fun� tags, which is one of our choices for April

I really enjoyed this one, too, and it has made it on to my "to buy" list as a book I am likely to either re-read, or lend out to other people to read.

KateNZ wrote: "I loved this too. I have her next novel to read as well but haven’t quite got to it yet"

I thought her next novel was just as good as this one, so you are in for a treat!