The Professor and the Madman

Mysterious (mist├«e ┬╖ ries),a. [f. L. myst├⌐rium Mysteryi + ous. Cf. F. myst├⌐rieux.] 1. Full of or fraught with mystery; wrapt in mystery; hidden from human knowledge or understanding; impossible or difficult to explainsolveor discover; of obscure originnatureor purpose. It is known as one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters. The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857took seventy years to completedrew from tens of thousands of brilliant mindsand organized the sprawling language into 414825 precise definitions. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story–a story of two remarkable men whose strange twenty-year relationship lies at the core of this historic undertaking. Professor James Murrayan astonishingly learned former schoolmaster and bank clerkwas the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minoran American surgeon from New HavenConnecticutwho had served in the Civil Warwas one of thousands of contributors who submitted illustrative quotations of words to be used in the dictionary. But Minor was no ordinary contributor. He was remarkably prolificsending thousands of neathandwritten quotations from his home in the small village of Crowthornefifty miles from Oxford. On numerous occasions Murray invited Minor to visit Oxford and celebrate his workbut Murray’s offer was regularly–and mysteriously–refused. Thus the two menfor two decadesmaintained a close relationship only through correspondence. Finallyin 1896after Minor had sent nearly ten thousand definitions to the dictionary but had still never traveled from his homea puzzled Murray set out to visit him. It was then that Murray finally learned the truth about Minor–thatin addition to being a masterful wordsmithMinor was also a murdererclinically insane–and locked up in BroadmoorEngland’s harshest asylum for criminal lunatics. The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness and geniusand the incredible obsessions of two men at the heart of the Oxford English Dictionary and literary history. With riveting insight and detailSimon Winchester crafts a fascinating glimpse into one man’s tortured mind and his contribution to another man’s magnificent dictionary.