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Reviews tagging 'Classism'
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
1 review
musicalpopcorn's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.5
This book chronicles the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, focussing on the contributions of one man writing from an Asylum after a brutal murder.
I had higher hopes for this book than it could deliver on. Aspects of the story were interesting, but I just found it too wrapped up in the British Victorian ideals, with the constant commentary on people’s backgrounds feeling more like classism than anything else. Lines about how Minor had “distinctly American hand-writing” confused me…a lot.
I will say the parts about his life and the murder he committed were what kept me reading. There were a few aspects of his story that were more than mildly shocking and I did appreciate learning about him.
I had higher hopes for this book than it could deliver on. Aspects of the story were interesting, but I just found it too wrapped up in the British Victorian ideals, with the constant commentary on people’s backgrounds feeling more like classism than anything else. Lines about how Minor had “distinctly American hand-writing” confused me…a lot.
I will say the parts about his life and the murder he committed were what kept me reading. There were a few aspects of his story that were more than mildly shocking and I did appreciate learning about him.
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Classism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: War and Confinement
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