The Professor and the Madman

By: Simon Winchester

Narrated by: Simon Winchester

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Hidden within the rituals of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary is a fascinating mystery. Professor James Murray was the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War, was one of the most prolific contributors to the dictionary, sending thousands of neat, hand-written quotations from his home. After numerous refusals from Minor to visit his home in Oxford, Murray set out to find him. It was then that Murray would finally learn the truth about Minor - that, in addition to being a masterly wordsmith, he was also an insane murderer locked up in Broadmoor, England's harshest asylum for criminal lunatics. The Professor and the Madman is the unforgettable story of the madness and genius that contributed to one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters.

©1998 Simon Winchester (P)1999 HarperCollins Publishers Inc., All Rights Reserved, Harper Audio, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The linguistic detective story of the decade." (New York Times Magazine)

Renewed My Interest in the OED

Interesting story of Dr. W. C. Minor. I didn't remember that he was an American Civil War doctor.

Goo book.

This was not my usual type of read and frankly I still don’t know what drew me to it...except maybe an interest in the human mind. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. Very interesting story centered around, of all things, the dictionary. I would highly recommend this as a very informative read. Also, in the right group or with the right person, it will be a very interesting topic of discussion and/or small talk.

Another Simon Winchester success

As always, Winchester does amazingly detailed research, and writes a great story. Enjoyed his personal reading of the book.

History of the dictionary at the outset

I almost gave up on this book. It read like the history of the dictionary and was very much like a text book for the first half. It wasn’t until mid way that a story really evolved and you could feel the friendship between the doctors working on the dictionary. In the end it was a nice story and enjoyable book but just beware it starts off dry.

very well done given an obscure topic

Pace is like a novel: murder, mental illness, and then immeasurable contribution to the greatest literary work of the English language: the Oxford English dictionary. Love to listen to anyone with a British accent.

Fascinating story told effectively and efficiently

What made the experience of listening to The Professor and the Madman the most enjoyable?

The books could have easily been padded and stretched out with more trivialities about the OED and the setting of the story, but it was the right length, and struck a balance between providing descriptive details without drowning in prose.

What did you like best about this story?

Unusual characters, unusual history, but all true.

What does Simon Winchester bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration adds an air of a historical lecture, perhaps largely due to the pleasant British accent. I listened at 1.5x speed and the distortion was minimal.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The life stories of the main characters.

Any additional comments?

A retelling of a fascinating true story that manages to balance a historical narrative with telling the personal stories of the two main characters. The book is engaging, well-researched, informative, and doesn't pander to the subject at hand (i.e. dictionary-making). It's just long enough to tell the story in a historical context, and does not wander off on tangents.

As a life-long reader, there is none better.

A good read often requires a good dictionary to be near and there is none better than the OED. This is the fascinating story behind the worlds best, and a good read to boot.

Gripping and a must read!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is such a treat simply because author is also narrator. He knows what he means and means what he knows. This is the real deal and what a true and extraordinary story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dr Milner of course. Why? Listen to this audiobook and you'll know why.

Which character – as performed by Simon Winchester – was your favorite?

The madman of course, but was he really mad? Depends what you call mad.

If you could give The Professor and the Madman a new subtitle, what would it be?

Hell Redefined, a.k.a. American Civil War

Any additional comments?

Anyone who goes through what Dr. Milner had to in the Civil War and only ended up insane, should consider themselves rather lucky. This book puts the atrocities of war into some perspective. Such man's inhumanity to man had never crossed my mind. Then there is the author's scholarship which one can only but admire. Like I said, "the real deal."

Boring

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I found the reader's voice to be slow and boring

If you’ve listened to books by Simon Winchester before, how does this one compare?

I have not

What didn’t you like about Simon Winchester’s performance?

His voice was boring

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Great story

A fascinating story about the work of two important characters involved in the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, one being a polymath and the first editor of the work (The Professor) and the other an American doctor convicted on a murder and committed to a lunatic asylum for most of his life (the Madman).

The story is really intriguing and meticulously researched and presented, I enjoyed it very much and highly recommended it whether you have any lexicographic inclination or not!