The Dictionary People

A history and celebration of the many far-flung volunteers who helped define the English language,word by word. ΓÇ£Enthralling and exuberantSarah Ogilvie tells the surprising story of the making of the OED. Philologistsfantasistscrackpotscriminalscareer spinsterssuffragistsand Australians: here is a wonder book for word lovers.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöJeanette Wintersonauthor of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit The Oxford English Dictionary is one of mankindΓÇÖs greatest achievementsand yetcuriouslyits creators are almost never considered. Who were the people behind this unprecedented book? As Sarah Ogilvie revealsthey include three murderersa collector of pornographythe daughter of Karl Marxa president of Yalea radical suffragettea vicar who was later found dead in the cupboard of his chapelan inventor of the first American subwaya female anti-slavery activist in Philadelphia . . . and thousands of others. Of deep transgenerational and broad appeala thrilling literary detective story thatfor the first timeunravels the mystery of the endlessly fascinating contributors the world over whofor over seventy yearshelped to codify the way we read and write and speak. It was the greatest crowdsourcing endeavor in human historythe Wikipedia of its time. The Dictionary People is a celebration of wordslanguageand peoplewhose eccentricities and obsessionstriumphsand failures enriched the English language.