The Dictionary of Lost Words

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. She and Harry go to the Scriptorium to explore the different meanings of the word “service” together. Some of the word slips were written by Esme’s Aunt Ditte, who often assists in Dictionary efforts from her home in Bath. Esme starts saving her stray word slips in a box under Lizzie’s bed.

Esme and her father attend a party to celebrate the publication of the A and B sections of the Dictionary. It’s also Esme’s birthday. Dr. Murray gives a long speech acknowledging contributions to the Dictionary and comparing his work to that of Dr. Samuel Johnson, the real-life 18th-century editor of a less complete dictionary.

After Esme overhears two men arguing over whether to encourage the inclusion of an unnamed “unpleasant” word, Esme and Aunt Ditte visit the Scriptorium. There, Ditte leaves a letter for Mr. Murray urging the inclusion of a controversial word (she does not tell Esme which one). Esme proudly shows Ditte the layout of the Scriptorium; one of the lexicographers, Mr. Maling, has been teaching her words in the constructed language Esperanto. Ditte gives Esme her birthday present, a copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. She tells Esme about how her parents first met at a school event, where Lily was trying and failing to cook.

Esme and Harry sit and talk about new words. A volunteer has submitted the word “certefye” with an example sentence written in archaic English. Harry explains how language changes over time. When Esme asks how the Dictionary men decide on which words and definitions to include, he describes their scientific process of consulting a range of texts.

At school, Esme is teased for her burned hand. She feels different from her classmates: “obsolete. No use to anyone” (34).

Later at the Scriptorium, a new assistant joins the men. Mr. Crane is unpleasant and suspicious of Esme. After he drops a parcel of word slips, Esme keeps two to add to the box. At home, Esme discovers hidden letters written between her father and her mother, though she doesn’t read any because she knows they end sadly. A letter from Ditte talks about the never-ending work of the Dictionary and how Esme may soon find herself recruited. Esme hides the letter away with her lost words. She and Lizzie discuss the way needlepoint gives Lizzie a sense of permanence in the world.

At the Scriptorium, Mr. Maling teaches Esme more Esperanto. As she collects two misplaced word slips, Mr. Crane sees her and tells the other men. Harry sends Esme to Lizzie’s room, and she carves “The Dictionary of Lost Words” into the lid of her wooden box using Lizzie’s hat pin. The hat pin becomes bent and damaged. Unable to fix it, Esme sets it aside, hoping Lizzie will think it was bent from falling to the floor. Esme stays away from the Scriptorium in embarrassment over being caught collecting the word slips. When Lizzie discovers the truth about her hat pin, she tells Esme how important the pin was—it belonged to her mother.

One day as Mr. Crane leaves the Scriptorium, he drops a parcel of word slips. Esme collects them and returns them to the Scriptorium after school, but Mr. Crane grows angry at her interference. Harry attempts to make peace, teaching Esme the word “mollify.”

At 14, Esme begins menstruation. Lizzie helps her, and Esme learns difficult new words: menstruation and catamenia (the blood discharged from the uterus). When Esme tries to understand her condition by asking Lizzie questions, she discovers that as a maid, Lizzie must be constantly working, while Esme can stay in bed when she doesn’t feel well.

Mr. Crane has been protesting Esme’s presence in the Scriptorium so much that Harry wrote to Aunt Ditte to ask for advice. Ditte writes back proposing that Esme attend boarding school in Scotland. Esme’s classmates and the men at the Scriptorium gather to wish her goodbye as she leaves.