The professor and the madman: a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
(Large Print)
Author:
Published:
Thorndike, Me. : G.K. Hall, 1999.
Physical Desc:
308 pages (large print) : illustrations ; 24 cm
Lexile measure:
1330L
Status:
Description
"The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857, took seventy years to complete, drew from tens of thousands of brilliant minds, and organized the sprawling language into 414,825 precise definitions. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story - a story of two remarkable men whose strange twenty-year relationship lies at the core of this historic undertaking." "Professor James Murray, an astonishingly learned former schoolmaster and bank clerk, was the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon from New Haven, Connecticut, who had served in the Civil War, was one of thousands of contributors who submitted illustrative quotations of words to be used in the dictionary. But Minor was no ordinary contributor. He was remarkably prolific, sending thousands of neat, handwritten quotations from his home in the small village of Crowthorne, fifty miles from Oxford. On numerous occasions Murray invited Minor to visit Oxford and celebrate his work, but Murray's offer was regularly - and mysteriously - refused." "Thus the two men, for two decades, maintained a close relationship only through correspondence. Finally, in 1896, after Minor had sent nearly ten thousand definitions to the dictionary but had still never traveled from his home, a puzzled Murray set out to visit him. It was then that Murray finally learned the truth about Minor - that, in addition to being a masterful wordsmith, Minor was also a murderer, clinically insane - and locked up in Broadmoor, England's harshest asylum for criminal lunatics."--BOOK JACKET.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Last Check-In
ASU Main (3rd floor)
PE1617.O94 W56 1999
On Shelf
Feb 21, 2024
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Subjects
LC Subjects
Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- History and criticism.
English language -- Etymology.
English language -- Lexicography.
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915 -- Friends and associates.
New English dictionary on historical principles.
Oxford English dictionary.
Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Biography.
English language -- Etymology.
English language -- Lexicography.
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915 -- Friends and associates.
New English dictionary on historical principles.
Oxford English dictionary.
Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Biography.
Other Subjects
More Details
Format:
Large Print
Language:
English
ISBN:
0783885008
Lexile measure:
1330
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Winchester, S. (1999). The professor and the madman: a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary. Thorndike, Me., G.K. Hall.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Winchester, Simon. 1999. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Thorndike, Me., G.K. Hall.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Winchester, Simon, The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Thorndike, Me., G.K. Hall, 1999.
MLA Citation (style guide)Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Thorndike, Me., G.K. Hall, 1999.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
1f7075b2-7b90-ea2c-71c2-2465498a4431
Record Information
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Last File Modification Time | Mar 07, 2024 05:04:57 PM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | May 01, 2024 08:53:47 PM |
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