The professor and the madman: a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
Author:
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Lexile measure:
1330L
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.
Subjects
Subjects
Biography & Autobiography
English language
English language -- Etymology
English language -- Lexicography
English language -- Lexicography -- History -- 19th century
Etymology
History
Language Arts
Lexicographers
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
Lexicography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915
New English dictionary on historical principles
Nonfiction
Oxford English dictionary
Psychiatric hospital patients
Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Biography
Veterans
English language
English language -- Etymology
English language -- Lexicography
English language -- Lexicography -- History -- 19th century
Etymology
History
Language Arts
Lexicographers
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
Lexicography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915
New English dictionary on historical principles
Nonfiction
Oxford English dictionary
Psychiatric hospital patients
Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Biography
Veterans
More Details
ISBN:
9780060175962
9780061807602
9780061807602
Lexile measure:
1330L
Staff View
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | a1efd0ff-e8d9-3c29-e140-bef3695b7cdb |
---|---|
Grouping Title | professor and the madman a tale of murder insanity and the making of the oxford english dictionary |
Grouping Author | simon winchester |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2023-01-28 04:07:44AM |
Last Indexed | 2023-01-28 05:16:15AM |
Solr Fields
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0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Winchester, Simon
author_display
Winchester, Simon
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Busch Annapolis Library
Edgewater Library
Glen Burnie Library
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library
Edgewater Library
Glen Burnie Library
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library
collection_aacpl
ADULT
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Busch Annapolis Library - Nonfiction
Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library - Nonfiction
Edgewater Library - Nonfiction
Glen Burnie Library - Nonfiction
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library - Nonfiction
Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library - Nonfiction
Edgewater Library - Nonfiction
Glen Burnie Library - Nonfiction
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library - Nonfiction
display_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.
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Book
eBook
eBook
format_category_aacpl
Books
eBook
eBook
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a1efd0ff-e8d9-3c29-e140-bef3695b7cdb
isbn
9780060175962
9780061807602
9780061807602
itype_aacpl
Adult Nonfiction
last_indexed
2023-01-28T10:16:15.124Z
lexile_score
1330
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_aacpl
423 W
Online OverDrive
Online OverDrive
owning_library_aacpl
Anne Arundel County Public Library
Anne Arundel County Public Library Online
Anne Arundel County Public Library Online
owning_location_aacpl
Busch Annapolis Library
Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library
Edgewater Library
Glen Burnie Library
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library
Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library
Edgewater Library
Glen Burnie Library
Online OverDrive Collection
Severna Park Library
primary_isbn
9780060175962
publishDate
1998
2009
2009
publisher
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins Publishers
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
English language -- Etymology
English language -- Lexicography
English language -- Lexicography -- History -- 19th century
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915
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 -- Lexicography
English language -- Lexicography -- History -- 19th century
Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H. -- (James Augustus Henry), -- 1837-1915
New English dictionary on historical principles
Oxford English dictionary
Psychiatric hospital patients -- Great Britain -- Biography
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Biography
title_display
The professor and the madman : a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
title_full
The Professor and the Madman A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
The professor and the madman : a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary / Simon Winchester
The professor and the madman : a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary / Simon Winchester
title_short
The professor and the madman
title_sub
a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
topic_facet
Biography & Autobiography
English language
Etymology
History
Language Arts
Lexicographers
Lexicography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H
Nonfiction
Psychiatric hospital patients
Veterans
English language
Etymology
History
Language Arts
Lexicographers
Lexicography
Minor, William Chester
Murray, James A. H
Nonfiction
Psychiatric hospital patients
Veterans
Solr Details Tables
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ils:a136590 | 31997107615494 | Edgewater Library - Nonfiction | 423 W | 1 | false | false | Checked Out | Jan 22, 2023 | EDG | ||||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615486 | Edgewater Library - Nonfiction | 423 W | 1 | false | false | On Shelf | Apr 03, 2022 | EDG | ||||
ils:a136590 | 31997095929196 | Busch Annapolis Library - Nonfiction | 423 W | 1 | false | false | On Shelf | Aug 18, 2022 | ANN | ||||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615528 | Severna Park Library - Nonfiction | 423 W | 1 | false | false | On Shelf | Oct 13, 2022 | S-PK | ||||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615502 | Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library - Nonfiction | 423 W | 1 | false | false | Checked Out | Jan 09, 2023 | EAN | ||||
overdrive:66db641a-e0dd-45bc-96e1-25f3bb8578e9 | -1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eBook | eBook | 2 | false | true | OverDrive | Checked Out | |||
overdrive:66db641a-e0dd-45bc-96e1-25f3bb8578e9 | 1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eBook | eBook | 3 | false | true | OverDrive | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:a136590 | Book | Books | First edition | English | HarperCollins Publishers | ©1998 | xi, 242 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm | |
overdrive:66db641a-e0dd-45bc-96e1-25f3bb8578e9 | eBook | eBook | English | HarperCollins | 2009 |
scoping_details_aacpl
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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ils:a136590 | 31997107615494 | Checked Out | Checked Out | false | false | true | false | false | true | |||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615486 | On Shelf | On Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | |||
ils:a136590 | 31997095929196 | On Shelf | On Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | |||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615528 | On Shelf | On Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | |||
ils:a136590 | 31997107615502 | Checked Out | Checked Out | false | false | true | false | false | true | |||
overdrive:66db641a-e0dd-45bc-96e1-25f3bb8578e9 | -1 | Checked Out | Checked Out | false | false | true | false | false | false | |||
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