The Surgeon of Crowthorne

Oct 2, 2024 6:19 AM

Author:Simon Winchester

An extraordinary tale of madness, genius and obsession, discover the true story of the two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary - and literary history!

The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand of those words.

But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, a millionaire and American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane . . . charged with murder!

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'A weird and wonderful story of an eccentric friendship, and a slice of history' Sunday Times

'What a revelation. Beautifully told and awe-inspiring' Daily Mail

'Simon Winchester could not have told it better . . . a splendid book' Economist

'Masterful . . . one of those rare stories that combine human drama and historical significance' Independent

Reviews

The Scots tongue, like most of the world's minority languages, is under pressure and Billy Kay in this excellent and cogent survey draws together the strands of our concern

—— Daily Express

Kay is the best writer on his own language I have read since Burchfield on English; his book should be put in schools, for it is capably seditious

—— The Herald

Moving, delightful, even inspiring

—— Edinburgh Review

It is not the kind of dry academic tome so cherished by linguistic nitpickers, but a bright, radical examination of the language which is at the heart of our existence

—— Aberdeen Press and Journal

A fresh and invigorating overview of a fascinating subject

—— Stirling Observer

Well written . . . provocative

—— The New York Times

Attuned to pop culture as well as to scholarship, Abley proves a deft social anthropologist

—— The Daily Telegraph

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