logo

42 pages 1 hour read

Pip Williams

The Dictionary of Lost Words

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Prologue-Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “1887-1896 Batten-Distrustful”

Prologue Summary: “February 1886”

The young Esme Nicoll sorts through words and definitions on scraps of paper. Her father Harry teaches her how to read and say each one, until they arrive at the word “Lily”—Esme’s mother’s name. Because the word slip is incomplete, her father throws the word into the fireplace. Esme unsuccessfully tries to rescue it, burning her hand.

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “May 1887”

Esme thinks about the Scriptorium or “the Scrippy”, the garden shed where her father, his friend Dr. Murray, and other men compile the first Oxford English Dictionary. Harry teaches Esme new words that volunteers submit from all over the world, and together they read Ala-ed-Din and the Wonderful Lamp. While the men work, Esme hides under the table. One day, a paper scrap with the word “Bondmaid,” an archaic term for a female enslaved person, falls and Esme hides it away. Her father once told her that some words would be left out of the Dictionary because they hadn’t been written down. She found this confusing, since a word that wasn’t included might be forgotten.

After showing the “Bondmaid” slip to the Murrays’ maid, Lizzie, Esme asks her father about working in service, beginning to understand that her life and Lizzie’s are not the same.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 42 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,550+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools