The Dictionary of Lost Words

Where to begin? I fear, I don’t have enough space here to gush about this book but you can find the full review on my goodreads. Although this book is quite slow-paced and went an entirely different course than what I guessed at after reading thr blurb and the prologue, it was sooo good! It takes place in England in the late 1800s, early 1900s which makes the inclusion of the start of the suffrage movement and World War 1 unavoidable, and I’ve learnt so much. Most of all seeing how far we’ve come in our efforts towards equality up until now, and realising that we all play a part in it – each of us playing to our strengths. Like Ditte wrote to Esme in response to the question if she did enough for the rights of women since she didn’t feel brave enough to be standing with those other women who were being beaten and punished for their cause: «You are not a coward, Esme. It pains me to think that any young woman would think such a thing because she is not being brutalised for her convictions. If Tilda is campaigning for the WSPU, it suits her completely. She is an actress and knows how to provoke an audience. If you want to be useful, keep doing what you have always done. (…) Play a position you are good at, and let others play theirs.» Now, to list a few more specific reasons why I love this book so much: ✨It’s beautifully and authentically written. We grow up with Esme, and the changes in the way she sees the world are reflected in the writing. ✨I loved every character as they were all written so carfully and thoroughly. Pip Williams knows how to make the reader see and get a person by showing us how they interact with others. ✨Esme’s development and her character were beautiful to read. I particularly enjoyed seeing how she gained responsibility in her work at the scriptorium. ✨I enjoyed the lovestory very, very much – such a sweet, sweet, bittersweet part of the book. Ultimately, I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves historical fiction, books about feminism and/or is in love with the English language and words on a whole.

I love this book! The topic alone is so interesting, I've never thought about the fact that dictionaries were also written by people; and my expectations were exceeded! The characters, the detailed writing but above all, the feminist part of the story! I really recommend it

Dieses Buch wurde mir von meiner australischen Freundin empfohlen. Wer Freude an der Sprache hat, wird diese Biografie einer jungen Frau anfangs des 20. Jahrhunderts lieben. Subtil zeigt es die Klassenunterschiede der damaligen Zeit auf und wie die Frauen gegen ihre Diskriminierung in der Gesellschaft kämpfen mussten.