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⭐️3 Stars⭐️
The Dictionary of Lost Words has had so much attention and the cover is quite stunning. I did find the first half of the book slow and a little boring, but because it had such good reviews I kept reading and was so pleased I did. The second half of the book was most enjoyable and it was quite an eye opener into the history of the Oxford Dictionary.

The book is a fictional story revolving around the creation of the first Oxford dictionary. Esme is a young girl who likes to spend her childhood sitting beneath the sorting table in a garden shed they name the ’Scriptorium��. This is where her lexicographer father and other workers debate which words are to be included in the dictionary. Here Esme sits unseen and unheard, she is motherless and is raised by her father.

The word ‘bondmaid�� flutters to the floor and Esme hides it and then stashes it in an old trunk that belongs to Lizzie a maid who helps to raise her, this will be the first of a collection of slips she hides. This is the story of Esme's life and her fascination with words.

The book touches on subjects of single parenthood, the suffrage movement, World War 1 and the bias towards the language of women and the lower classes.

Recommended for lovers of language. Extensive research and love has gone into the writing of this book which is based on major historical events and real-life characters.