Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

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

6 reviews

dominicangirl's review against another edition

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dark informative sad slow-paced

4.25

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musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

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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.

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