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The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams (2021)  Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.  As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story.

This discussion is held in person.  Multiple copies of this title are available for check out  in the library.  

Our facilitator for this discussion is Karen Wink, professor of english, U.S. Coast Guard.