Naomi Weisman is the writer and editor of Nomi's Pics in our Rambler Café Blog. She is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Summary
This month, the Sole Sister Ramblers Book Club is delving into The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams—a moving and thought-provoking novel that reminds us language is never neutral. Through Esme’s story, we witness how words can both reflect and erase lives, and how power and identity are deeply entwined with the act of naming. For our group, this is more than historical fiction—it’s a call to notice the quiet places where women’s voices have lived and too often been lost.
About the Author
Pip Williams was born in London, raised in Sydney, and now lives in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills. She has worked as a social researcher and has a passion for stories that explore memory, history, and the unseen details of everyday life. The Dictionary of Lost Words is her debut novel, inspired by her own curiosity about what was left out of the Oxford English Dictionary and why. Her work combines rigorous historical research with lyrical fiction to give voice to the silenced and forgotten.
Major Themes to Explore
At the heart of the novel is the idea that language is never neutral. The making of the Oxford English Dictionary is shown as a selective process—one that reflects who holds power and whose stories are deemed worthy of recording. Esme’s decision to collect the “lost words” of women and the poor becomes an act of quiet rebellion.
The novel also explores how women’s lives have been shaped by silence. Through characters like Lizzie, Tilda, and Esme’s mother, we see how language—or the lack of it—can shape a person’s identity and legacy. The story invites us to notice who gets to speak, who is heard, and who is left out.
Class, grief, and memory weave throughout the book. Esme’s relationships with working-class women and her experience of personal loss drive her deeper into the hidden corners of language, as she searches for what others have missed or ignored.
Questions to Reflect On
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What did you notice about the kinds of words Esme chose to collect? How do they reflect her values and the lives of the women around her?
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How did the story shape your thinking about who controls language, and why that matters?
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What role do grief and memory play in Esme’s passion for words?
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How did the blend of real history and fiction impact your experience of the story?
Final Words
The Dictionary of Lost Words offers more than a glimpse into the making of a dictionary—it opens a conversation about who gets to define meaning in our world. Through Esme’s quiet determination, we are reminded that language is deeply personal, deeply political, and deeply human.
As we turn the final page, may we carry forward a renewed appreciation for the words we use, the stories we tell, and the voices we choose to uplift. Let this reading be an invitation to listen closely—to ourselves, to one another, and to those whose words were never written down.
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