Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

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  • Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

"Madness, violence, arcane obsessions, weird learning, ghastly comedy, all set out in an atmosphere of po-aced, high neo-Gothic. The geographical span is wide, from Dickensian London to Florida's Pensacola Bay, from the beaches at Trincomalee to the Civil War battlefields of the United States. . . . It is a wonderful story."--John Banville, Literary Review

"Splendid. . . . Simon Winchester could not have told it better."--The Economist

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, an updated edition of the worldwide celebrated classic, featuring a new introduction by the author.

Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary--one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the OED's overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, was stunned to discover that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand entries. But their surprise would pale in comparison to what they were about to discover when the committee insisted on honoring him. Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
$18.99
Temporarily Out of Stock
Description

"Madness, violence, arcane obsessions, weird learning, ghastly comedy, all set out in an atmosphere of po-aced, high neo-Gothic. The geographical span is wide, from Dickensian London to Florida's Pensacola Bay, from the beaches at Trincomalee to the Civil War battlefields of the United States. . . . It is a wonderful story."--John Banville, Literary Review

"Splendid. . . . Simon Winchester could not have told it better."--The Economist

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, an updated edition of the worldwide celebrated classic, featuring a new introduction by the author.

Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary--one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the OED's overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, was stunned to discover that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand entries. But their surprise would pale in comparison to what they were about to discover when the committee insisted on honoring him. Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

ISBN
9780063341906
Publication Date
October 17, 2023
Binding
Paperback
Item Condition
New
Language
English
Pages
272
Keywords
Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics | General; Biography & Autobiography | Historical; Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures; History | Europe | Great Britain - Victorian Era (1837-1901); Medical | Research; History | Modern | 21st Century; Education | Reference; Biography & Autobiography | Reference; Medical | Psychiatry | General; Literary Criticism | Books & Reading; Psychology | Reference; Reference | Trivia; Biography & Autobiography | Criminals & Outlaws; History | Europe | Great Britain - 20th Century

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