The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary

by Sarah Ogilvie

Overview

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION FINALIST • The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • A history and celebration of the many far-flung volunteers who helped define the English language, word by word.

“Enthralling and exuberant, Sarah Ogilvie tells the surprising story of the making of the OED. Philologists, fantasists, crackpots, criminals, career spinsters, suffragists, and Australians: here is a wonder book for word lovers.” —Jeanette Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit


The Oxford English Dictionary is one of mankind’s greatest achievements, and yet, curiously, its creators are almost never considered. Who were the people behind this unprecedented book? As Sarah Ogilvie reveals, they include three murderers, a collector of pornography, the daughter of Karl Marx, a president of Yale, a radical suffragette, a vicar who was later found dead in the cupboard of his chapel, an inventor of the first American subway, a female anti-slavery activist in Philadelphia . . . and thousands of others.

Of deep transgenerational and broad appeal, a thrilling literary detective story that, for the first time, unravels the mystery of the endlessly fascinating contributors the world over who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read and write and speak. It was the greatest crowdsourcing endeavor in human history, the Wikipedia of its time.

The Dictionary People is a celebration of words, language, and people, whose eccentricities and obsessions, triumphs, and failures enriched the English language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593536407
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/17/2023
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	12,057
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

SARAH OGILVIE is a linguist, lexicographer, writer, and technologist. Raised in Australia, she has lived and worked in both the United States, teaching at Stanford, and Britain. She currently teaches at Oxford University, where she develops and directs a new degree integrating humanities with technology.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/07/2023

“I am sure that lovers of our language will not willingly let die the names of those who... have labored in the cause of the Dictionary,” wrote Oxford English Dictionary editor James Murray in 1892. In this charming debut history, Ogilvie, another former editor of the OED, answers her predecessor’s 130-year-old imperative. After stumbling upon Murray’s leather-bound diaries and address books in the OED archives, Ogilvie set out to uncover “the dictionary people,” 3,000 individuals across the globe who heeded the call to be part of the largest crowdsourcing effort in history. Invited through newspaper notices to “read the books they had to hand, and to mail to the Editor of the Dictionary examples of how particular words were used,” individuals from all walks of life responded, including “three murderers, a pornography collector, Karl Marx’s daughter, a President of Yale, the inventor of the tennis-net adjuster, a pair of lesbian writers who wrote under a male pen name, and a cocaine addict found dead in a railway station lavatory.” Ogilvie not only introduces readers to a fascinating cross-section of Victorian society, but notes the groundbreaking nature of the OED project; for example, “the radical and open process of the Dictionary’s making... included hundreds of women” at a time when they were often excluded from academic pursuits. The whimsical narrative is also educational, providing extensive insight into the process used to trace the origins of words. Readers will be enthralled. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

British voice artist Joan Walker's plummy, warm voice charms listeners as thoroughly as does Sarah Ogilvie's marvelous account of the Oxford English Dictionary's unsung heroes. Begun in 1857, the OED depended on volunteers around the world who submitted words (and citations of first use) found in every kind of publication. They were a fascinating cross section of society, from criminals and lunatics, suffragettes and stuffy bankers to spinsters and entire families. Ogilvie, who reads the inviting introduction, clearly adores these obsessed characters, and Walker does, too. Narrating with an audible smile, attentive pacing, and appreciative tone, she highlights the whimsy and emphasizes the seriousness of the massive ongoing endeavor. Ogilvie and Walker's shared delight in these "word-aholics" is contagious. Prepare to be charmed. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2023 - AudioFile

★ 2023-07-13
The history of the creation of a dictionary built on a passion for words.

In her last days living in Oxford, before taking a teaching position at Stanford, linguist and lexicographer Ogilvie, who had worked as an editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, discovered six handwritten address books noting the names of more than 3,000 contributors to the project. Beginning in 1879, these men and women, from all over the world, had responded to a plea by the OED’s editor James Murray to submit words and their context for inclusion in the massive dictionary. Based on the information in the address books, which had been carried on by Murray’s successors, Ogilvie spent eight years researching the contributors’ identities, resulting in a fascinating history of a quirky population of individuals, some university educated, some autodidacts, who had in common a love of reading, a keen sensibility, and a desire to be part of a prestigious endeavor. Her lively compendium of dictionary people includes an archaeologist living in Calcutta who submitted 5,000 words that she discovered in religious books and travelers’ tales; the inventors of the electric tricycle, the sewage pipe, and indelible green ink for printing money; several men incarcerated in mental institutions, one of whom was a murderer; a pair of lesbian lovers; and suffragists, such as the secretary of the Birmingham Women’s Suffrage Society, whose submissions were drawn not from her political involvement but from her reading in philosophy and religion. Ogilvie’s archival sleuthing unearthed juicy scandals. For example, before becoming a contributor, groundbreaking photographer Eadweard Muybridge murdered his wife’s lover, for which he was acquitted by reason of insanity and justifiable homicide; and surgeon and Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson saw his reputation tarnished by accusations of murder and cannibalism during a failed expedition to find the Northwest Passage. While bringing to life a host of passionate volunteers, Ogilvie also charts decades of social, economic, and cultural change, mapped by words.

A fresh, vibrant, entertaining history.

Kirkus Reviews

Sprightly, elegant. . . . Engrossing. . . . Lively and entertaining. . . . The real joy of The Dictionary People is to be reminded that any group of people pinned at its intersection will still burst forth every which way, a tapestry of contradictions, noble and ignoble, wild and banal. In the lives of these uneminent Victorians, Ogilvie has shown us that humanity, even for word nerds, is always—as Jane Austen might put it—sprawly, fragmented and irrepressible.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“[A] delightful grab-bag of brief biographies. . . . Again and again, The Dictionary People emphatically demonstrates that even seemingly dry-as-dust scholars weren’t that at all. . . . [To] all the ‘unsung heroes’ celebrated in The Dictionary People, we owe much of our appreciation of the range, beauty and history of the English language.” —The Washington Post

“Ogilvie’s history unites a choice selection of these fascinating personalities still further, turning aspects of their colorful lives into the driving force of this absorbing book.“ —The Wall Street Journal

"Ogilvie, whose book sets out to tell as inclusive a history as possible ofthe dictionary, takes palpable pleasure in such idiosyncratic details that reveal the range of people busy with what was an enormous undertaking. . . . Readers who delight in obscure or obsolete words will delight in The Dictionary People. . . . At it's heart, though, this is a book about people, about individual efforts and collective achievement. . . . Highly readable and enjoyably digressive, it is one to approach at leisure forenlightenment and entertainment." —Air Mail

“As is true of so many of the most important things in an everyday life (the earth, for instance) we take for granted, we never pause a moment to wonder: How did this get made? The Oxford English Dictionary is, especially in my life, such a wonder. In The Dictionary People—a lively, funny book, full of eccentrics—Sarah Ogilvie finds all the magical characters who contributed to making the Dictionary. This is an exquisitely written book.” —Jamaica Kincaid
 
“Enthralling and exuberant, Sarah Ogilvie tells the surprising story of the making of the OED. Philologists, fantasists, crackpots, criminals, career spinsters, suffragists, and Australians: here is a wonder book for word lovers.” —Jeanette Winterson

“Sarah Ogilvie has brought to centre stage a gallery of remarkable characters quite as astonishing, hilarious, terrifying and beguiling as any found in Dickens. The 'ordinary' people who helped create the Oxford English Dictionary reveal themselves to be anything but ordinary. At the back of it all we are reminded that words themselves are not abstract units of meaning, they are every bit as alive, elusive and enchanting as the people who devote themselves to their study. The Dictionary People serves also, incidentally, as a marvellous record of the incidentals, the daily details, manners and modes of 19th century life. An unmissable wonderful achievement.” —Stephen Fry

“While bringing to life a host of passionate volunteers, Ogilvie also charts decades of social, economic, and cultural change, mapped by words. A fresh, vibrant, entertaining history.” —Kirkus Reviews [starred review]

“Whether it’s Wordle, Spelling Bee or Blossom, families and friends are finding daily enjoyment (and, yes, frustration) in learning new words. That’s the exact audience that will be delighted to discover The Dictionary People, Sarah Ogilvie’s captivating, enchanting history. The story of how Ogilvie—a linguist, writer and lexicographer—found her way to this project is almost as fascinating as the history itself. . . . Through their devotion and love of language, the unsung heroes of the Oxford English Dictionary have helped us understand our world better. Ogilvie’s passion for the Dictionary People is palpable and con­tagious, making this book a sheer delight.” 
—Bookpage [starred review]

“Astonishing . . .  Ogilvie cleverly organises her book as an alphabetised dictionary, running from A for Archaeologist to Z for Zealot by way of N for New Zealanders. This allows her to produce short, punchy biographical essays that never outstay their welcome.” —Kathryn Hughes, The Sunday Times (UK)

“These stories about the ensemble of, for the most part, unfancy but always unexpected Oxford English ‘dictionary people’ are a perfect dose of hope. The pages come alive with humor, surprise, passion, charm, empathy, intrigue, humanness, and love. I’d prescribe it for any reader who is working against the odds to bring vision into reality.” —Anna Deavere Smith
 
“[A] charming debut. Ogilvie not only introduces readers to a fascinating cross-section of Victorian society, but notes the groundbreaking nature of the OED project. The whimsical narrative is also educational, providing extensive insight into the process used to trace the origins of words. Readers will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed)
 
“Ogilvie’s enthusiasm for the [Oxford English Dictionary] Readers . . . is infectious, and this book is a delight to read.” —Laurie Unger Skinner, Booklist

“Ogilvie has done her research: she has really dug into a huge array of people. I love words and I cherish my OED, with its magnifying glass – so having the background of it explained was fascinating.” —Val McDermid, The Guardian

 

From the Publisher