The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Format & Condition: Hardback, Good
Genre: Historical Fiction; Literary Fiction

Growing up beneath the sorting table where her father helps compile the Oxford English Dictionary, Esme begins collecting words the editors overlook or discard. As she discovers how often women’s experiences go unrecorded, her private collection becomes a powerful act of preservation against the backdrop of the suffrage movement and approaching war.

A New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club selection, this novel draws inspiration from real history. I recommend it for its inventive premise, richly drawn setting, and moving reminder that whose words we preserve shapes whose stories we remember.