The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Oxford English Dictionary Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Oxford English Dictionary Book

Subtitled "A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words," this is a remarkable account of the life of W.C. Minor. Not a famous name, but a quite extraordinary man. Minor was an American Army surgeon and millionaire who contributed enormously by post to the first, epic edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) while hidden away in obscurity in Berkshire, England. As the author points out, the OED is the most important work of reference ever created, and, given the globalisation of the English language, is likely to remain so for centuries. But when in 1896 Sir James Murray, the formidable editor of the OED, at last travelled down to Berkshire to find this elusive lexicographer and thank him for all his work, he found Minor in Broadmoor: patient Number 742.Minor was educated, gentlemanly, industrious, and a psychopathic killer, who had gunned down a man at random in the London streets because he believed his victim was an Irish terrorist after his blood. Simon Winchester won't win any prizes for the elegance of his prose style, but he has dug up a strange and extraordinary life story and turned it into a compelling piece of historical detective work. He never really penetrates into the central mystery of Minor's madness, because no one can. The mystery remains, inviolable, and makes his tale all the more darkly compelling. --Christopher HartRead More

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  • Amazon

    The making of the 'Oxford English Dictionary' was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the 'OED's' editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him.

  • Foyles

    An extraordinary tale of madness, genius and obsession, discover the true story of the two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary - and literary history!The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand of those words. But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, a millionaire and American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane . . . charged with murder!_____________________'A weird and wonderful story of an eccentric friendship, and a slice of history' Sunday Times'What a revelation. Beautifully told and awe-inspiring' Daily Mail'Simon Winchester could not have told it better . . . a splendid book' Economist 'Masterful . . . one of those rare stories that combine human drama and historical significance' Independent

  • TheBookPeople

    The making of the Oxford English Dictionary was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the OED's editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him. What he found was incredible - Minor was a millionaire American civil war surgeon turned lunatic, imprisoned in Broadmoor Asylum for murder and yet who dedicated his entire cell-bound life to work on the English language.

  • BookDepository

    The Surgeon of Crowthorne : Paperback : Penguin Books Ltd : 9780140271287 : : 03 Jun 1999 : The making of the "Oxford English Dictionary"" was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the ""OED's"" editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him."

  • Penguin

    Two distinguished looking Victorians, both learned and serious, yet from very different worlds: one a brilliant polymath, the other a madman and murderer Dr James Murray, erudite and pious, who broke free from an impoverished childhood to become a towering figure of British scholarship and editor of the great Oxford English Dictionary.

  • Play

    W.C. Minor was one of the keenest volunteers involved in the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. What the OED's editor James Murray didn't realise was that he was also a millionaire American Civil War surgeon turned lunatic imprisoned in Broadmoor Asylum for murder.

  • Waterstones

    The making of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the

  • 0140271287
  • 9780140271287
  • Simon Winchester
  • 25 July 2002
  • Penguin
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 224
  • New Ed
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