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Virtual Book Club

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Join us for a book discussion of "The Dictionary of Lost Words" by Pip Williams.

Join us for our regular lunchtime book discussion of The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. If you would like a copy from the book club bag, email Becky to request the book. Or you can request a copy with your library card via our online catalog: physical book, e-book, and e-audiobook.

Register and you'll get an email with instructions on how to participate via Zoom.

About the book: 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. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, 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. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world.

Technology requirements: You will need a device or a computer with an internet connection and Chrome browser, microphone and speakers to participate. 

We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistance, ASL requests, or other ADA inquiries), email sday@spokanelibrary.org.

For all event information inquiries, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.

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