This book took me a lot longer than expected to finish. I almost did not complete it. The first half of the book is slow. It does pick up, so I am thankful that I kept reading!
It was worth my time, though. I really found the book rather interesting. It was beautifully written and well-researched.
Characters: The characters in this book were wonderful. I really enjoyed reading about them. It was nice to read about Esme from the time she was young and watched her grow.
Cover art: I really thought the cover art was adorable! I wanted to take the cover and frame it.
I enjoyed the story a lot as well. Etymology has always fascinated me. When I read the summary of this book, I knew that I had to read it. It was fascinating to read about written and spoken language being different. Language between class (rich and poor) are not only different but also valued differently .
This novel covers the characters gathering words to form the dictionary. But it also talks about women’s rights, the Women’s suffrage movement, WWI, class, etc.
Warnings: some words used in this book are considered obscene or “bad” words in our language today.