The Lost Words is a beautiful book and, in terms of ideas, an important one. I once asked a magician what he considered to be the defining characteristic of his art. “Directing the gaze”, he said. Re-enchantment, re-engagement and conservation of the natural world is ultimately only going to be possible if we retain the language with which to make it happen.

A proportion of proceeds from each copy of The Lost Words is being given to one such organisation, Action for Conservation. a b " 'The Dictionary of Lost Words' to be adapted for TV". Books+Publishing. 10 November 2022 . Retrieved 14 November 2022.

The relationship is pretty tidily encapsulated there. Older mentor, not quite understanding the mentee but giving great guidance anyway; just not quite what was really needed. The words for things are centered; the denotations are generously given, while the connotations are left more or less to Esme's maturing brain to construct as best she can. She is, after all, equipped with well-designed tools...but no manuals to train their user in their best use. Still and all, I'm so pleased that I read this wonderful story. I think it could have made more of an impact on me had some stylistic choices been made differently; that is always the way with making art, no one can create something as powerful and fully realized as this book is without making choices that won't work for everyone. I felt very strongly the aura of choices and decisions affirmatively, consideredly made at every turn. This is in no way a slapdash or ill-made work of fiction. Its real and its fictional characters are treated with equal gravitas. That the factual characters take up less screen time is a decision that the author and editor clearly planned carefully and executed deftly. I can offer no more heartfelt recommendation than "read this book soon." I *could* have, if certain other, less distancing, choices had been made, turned obnoxious pest and shouted at you to get the book NOW read it on the Jitney or in the Admiral's Club but just GET IT!! In 1887, six year old Esme Nicoll is being raised by her father Harry, one of the lexicographers working with Dr. James Murray compiling the Oxford English Dictionary. She spends most of her free time under a table in the Scriptorium , the “Scrippy”, collecting slips of papers with words written on them that fall to the floor or are discarded, her first being a slip of paper with the word ‘bondmaid’ written on it . She keeps her collection in a trunk that belongs to Lizzie who works as domestic help in the Murray’s household and becomes one of her best friends and confidantes. Watch Riley Stemp’s #TeacherEffect story on The Lost Wordsas shared by the Department of Education. “I was just blown away… you feel that something that you were very inspired by, has inspired some beautiful writing as well.” One day, Esme finds a slip of paper fluttered on the floor. The word “bondmaid” is written on it. She hides the paper, stashing at Lizzie’s trunk. ( Lizzie is the maid working for them, raising her after her mother passed away)

The message of the book is clear , children are losing the "wild streak" and nature and it's beauty are being forgotten. My children sat enthralled in it as we talked about what the message was and why it's important to run in the grass and notice & care for our natural surroundings and the creatures that live within it before they are lost completely. It was announced in November 2022 that a collaboration between filmmakers Lisa Scott of Highview Productions and Rebecca Summerton of Closer Productions (who in 2019 collaborated on The Hunting) had bought the rights to adapt the book for a television series. [8] [12] Williams is co- executive producer, along with Alex Dimos and Andrew Nunn, while Anton Andreacchio is producer of the series. [13]All over the country, there are words disappearing from children's lives. Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds. What we might call the ‘nature of childhood’ has changed dramatically in Britain over recent decades,” says Macfarlane, a Reader in Environmental Humanities in Cambridge University's Faculty of English. After reading, based on the recommendation from a good friend, Simon Winchester's The Surgeon of Crowthorne: a tale of murder, madness & the love of words (published in the US as The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary), Williams was left with the distinct impression that "the Dictionary was a particularly male endeavor" — as she writes in the Author's Note at the end. She soon "gleans ... all the editors were men ... most of the literature, manuals, and newspaper articles used as evidence for how words were used, were written by men." And thus began her foundation and the desire to create something of her own here: Me needlework will always be here,” she said. “I see this and I feel…well, I don’t know the word. Like I’ll always be here.” While I did enjoy this one, it was a slow read and the characters do not enjoy much happiness. I think it was authentic to history, but I need more joy in life, especially during a pandemic!