The Dictionary People

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now ${{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

What do three murderers, Karl Marx's daughter and a vegetarian vicar have in common?
They all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary has long been associated with elite institutions and Victorian men; its longest-serving editor, James Murray, devoted 36 years to the project, as far as the letter T. But the Dictionary didn't just belong to the experts; it relied on contributions from members of the public. By the time it was finished in 1928 its 414,825 entries had been crowdsourced from a surprising and diverse group of people, from archaeologists and astronomers to murderers, naturists, novelists, pornographers, queer couples, suffragists, vicars and vegetarians.

Lexicographer Sarah Ogilvie dives deep into previously untapped archives to tell a people's history of the OED. She traces the lives of thousands of contributors who defined the English language, from the eccentric autodidacts to the family groups who made word-collection their passion. With generosity and brio, Ogilvie reveals, for the first time, the full story of the making of one of the most famous books in the world - and celebrates to sparkling effect the extraordinary efforts of the Dictionary People.

©2023 Sarah Ogilvie (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • Utterly fascinating, entertaining, astonishing and as clever as a box of monkeys… I am bowled over by Sarah Ogilvie’s book and every home should have a copy. I completely love it

    Joanna Lumley

  • Who knew such mysteries lay behind the Oxford English Dictionary? This is a fascinating, unique and original book which uncovers the people behind the words. A jaw-dropping cross-section of society are revealed for the first time in all their complexity

    Janina Ramirez, author of Femina

  • Exquisitely written … A lively, funny book full of eccentrics

    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

  • I love words and I cherish my OED … having the background of it explained was fascinating

    Val McDermid

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.