In a poignant narrative that unfolds in the shadows of the Oxford English Dictionary's creation, 'The Dictionary of Lost Words' by Pip Williams tells the story of Esme, a motherless child who grows up in the Scriptorium. Here, her father and a team of lexicographers toil to capture the English language in its entirety for the groundbreaking dictionary. Esme's unique vantage point under the table exposes her to the words and voices marginalized by history. When Esme stumbles upon the discarded slip for 'bondmaid,' a term that defines a slave girl, her fascination with the omitted and overlooked language of women and the working class compels her to compile a dictionary of her own. Set against the backdrop of the women's suffrage movement and the impending World War, Esme’s collection of lost words becomes an act of defiance and self-discovery, a secret illumination of unheard stories. Pip Williams weaves a tale that is a tribute to the unrecognized contributions women have made to the way we speak and think, revealing a hidden narrative carved out of quiet resistance and the infinite power of words.