The Dictionary People
A lexicographer moving on to a new post abroad revisits favourite locations in Oxford. Included in this was a visit to the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary, the historic establishment where she’d been an editor. In this visit, breathing in the history and the peace, she made a discovery: the address book and journal of James A. H. Murray, who’d become editor of the OED in 1879, after the notable Frederick Furnivall. The idea and foundation of the Oxford English Dictionary (that started as The New English Dictionary) is on public record and an intriguing subject in and of itself. However, Ogilvie recognised the value of her discovery. This wasn’t rehashing the story of the project… it was adding to it! These were the volunteer Readers, contributors, sub-editors. These were the names of people who performed the job as data collectors, researchers, sorters, and enthusiasts who understood the concept of the OED: not a definition but a history of words!
Recognising the value of this collection of journals, the author spent a lot of time decoding the annotations of Murray, following up and confirming the identities of the thousands of Readers. What she discovered of the OED past – adding to the known history – make up this book. Alphabetically listed (of course), we have the famous and infamous; the intense expert and the charlatan. Woven into the accounts – detailed where possible – is the monumental history of what we know as The Oxford English Dictionary.
The obvious inclusions of notorious Readers rub shoulders with the lesser-known but worthy characters. Rich, poor, educated, rustic … all contributed to the OED, and Murray – a character in of himself – recorded them. A great read!
