The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Dictionary of Lost Words is a 2020 historical novel by Australian author Pip Williams. It is based on true historical events surrounding the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffrage movement for women’s voting rights, and World War I. The novel won numerous awards, including the MUD Literary Prize for best debut novel and General Fiction Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards, both in 2021.

This study guide references the 2021 paperback edition of the novel from Penguin Random House UK.

Plot Summary

Part 1

Esme Nicoll is the daughter of Harry, an editorial assistant for lexicographer Dr. Murray, who leads the team assembling the first Oxford English Dictionary in a garden shed they call the Scriptorium. As a child, Esme likes to gather stray word slips the men drop by accident, which she hides in a box under the bed of the Murrays’ maid, Lizzie. Esme labels the box “The Dictionary of Lost Words.” As Esme grows, she learns that not all words are considered appropriate to include in the Dictionary—in particular, words that describe womanhood and puberty. Esme ends up at an abusive boarding school that she cannot escape for some time.

Part 2

When Esme returns for summer holidays, she asks her Aunt Ditte to tutor her, but Ditte declines, and Esme returns to school. When Harry discovers the boarding school is abusive, he sends her to a local high school instead. Esme grows angry at Ditte for not helping her escape sooner.

After graduating, Esme works in the Scriptorium as her father’s assistant. She meets Gareth, a young compositor. At the Scriptorium, Dr. Murray receives a letter revealing a word is missing from the printed volumes of the dictionary. Esme and Lizzie discuss the missing word, “Bondmaid,” which Esme collected on a word slip long ago.

Part 3

Esme searches for words that haven’t made it into the Dictionary, which generally come from lower-class and less educated women. She also befriends an actress named Tilda, who invites Esme to a suffragette meeting, and her brother Bill. After Esme and Bill have sex, Esme becomes pregnant and goes to see an abortionist, but it is too late for the procedure. Instead, her Aunt Ditte introduces her to friends who adopt Esme’s baby and take the newborn to Australia.

Part 4

Depressed by the loss of her daughter, Esme retreats with Lizzie to a countryside cottage. There they befriend the neighbors and Esme slowly heals from her grief. When they arrive home, Harry encourages Esme to consider potential suitors.

Esme decides to assemble a women’s dictionary, inspired by the words she has collected. She gets to know Gareth better, and he contributes a word for her dictionary from his mother. After a suffragette protest, Esme, Lizzie, and a badly hurt Tilda debate the actions of the suffragettes. Harry dies of a stroke.

Part 5

Many of the men working on the Dictionary enlist to fight in WWI. Esme confesses her secret child to Gareth, who gifts Esme a bound copy of her women’s dictionary. They are married shortly before Gareth is drafted. Esme begins volunteering at an infirmary.

When Dr. Murray passes away, editorial work moves out of the Scriptorium. Esme and Lizzie assist with clearing everything out, and Esme learns of Gareth’s death.

Part 6

Years later, Aunt Ditte writes to Esme’s daughter Megan to tell her of Esme’s death. Megan learns about her biological mother’s love for words. Megan becomes a professor and language expert who speaks of Esme at a celebration of the Oxford Dictionary.