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Title:
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Guilty by Definition |
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Authors:
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Dent, Susie |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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383 |
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Year:
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2024 |
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Publisher:
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Zaffre |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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No one is better placed to decipher the cryptic language contained in a series of anonymous letters, than their recipient, the editing team at Oxford's Clarendon English Dictionary. The letters focus on the year - a decade earlier - when Charlie, sister of the now senior editor Martha Thornhill, disappeared... With excellent pacing and sustained tension, this clever and stimulating mystery is woven through with literary allusions, snippets of history and unashamed delight in the joys and challenges of lexicography.
Comments from BDS Reviewers:"Full of interesting definitions, pieces of history and lovely descriptions pf Oxford."
"The story reveals the personality and character of these lexicographers, their collaborative and loyal interactions, their knowledge of 'Common Books' in Shakespeare's time, and the increasing tension and buildup to solving the murder mystery."
"Really clever writing and much to discuss."
"We get to know the characters really well, and the plot moves along quickly."
"An intriguing possibility with regard to Shakespeare's family is also a key part of the novel."
"I enjoyed discovering that a 'convent' was not merely where nuns lived, but (as with convention) a place where work was carried out."
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Categories:
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Fiction, Contemporary, Grief/loss, Mystery, England, Just Added, 2026 Titles |
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Reviews
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By: CHCH 364
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2026-03-31 15:00:59 |
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Best ever average score! Everyone enjoyed and remarked on the chapter heading words, gaining insight into our own language heritage, and understanding some favourite sayings eg. "dead ringer". |
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By: AUCK 285
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2025-12-22 15:50:13 |
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Our second best book of the calendar year. Loved the playing with language - the puzzles were too hard for us to uncover but we read many fascinating and obscure words and could imagine the OED ( or Clarendon, in the book's world) editors carrying out their word investigations. |
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