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)

fascinating little thing

**some spoilers ahead**
It's a rather flimsy, but thoroughly enjoyable little incursion into the story of William Chester Minor, one of the most important contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary. The relevant arc starts with him as a surgeon in the Union Army and ends with his death back in the States.
I call it flimsy because it's only interesting or important in the sense that we all like to pry into the hidden lives of celebrities, and this touches that exact chord.
It is, nevertheless, fascinating. Minor served during the Civil War and, the theory goes, had a crucial moment when he was forced to brand an Irish deserter. We don't know that this is what caused his sexual obsessions (wouldn't it be weird if it did), but it was almost certainly what caused his belief that Irish men were constantly after him, invading his room at night and performing strange rituals on him. Increasingly erratic, sexually obsessed and paranoid, he was admitted to a lunatic asylum, which - as happened more often than not in those days - did nothing to cure or improve his condition. He left for England, where, one might almost say "in due course", he shot a man and was then incarcerated, in a modern move, at the Broadmoor asylum. And here he was to stay for over 30 years, settling into very comfortable quarters and carrying on with the exact same paranoid delusions about Irish men springing up from the floorboards at night and taking him to various brothels where he was forced to perform shameful sexual acts on girls. Nighttime delusions notwithstanding, he also managed to accumulate an impressive collection of books and contribute a huge number of entries and quotations to the OED, while at some point also cutting off his penis to punish himself for compulsive masturbation.
The book is also interesting in its tangential details about Broadmoor and the making of the OED. All in all, as I said, flimsy but interesting.

Enthralling

I just loved listening to this book. Mr. Winchester's obvious curiousity and erudition comes through in the structure of the book, his detailed research, and his reading of the narrative. Who would have thought that a book about a dictionary -- and the somewhat peculiar people who created it -- would be so fascinating. But, even my kids (ages 8 and 11) were enthralled when they were listening along with me in the car and refused to get out until a section was completed. And, my daughter (the 11 year old) made a bee-line for the OED at a library visit months after listening to even that one small section of the book!

Engaging and well-read by author

A surprisingly intriguing true-life story, for once well-read by the author. Slightly repetitive, with a bit of not-terribly-relevant filler material. But Winchester knows his subject and the era well, and anyone who dotes on the OED will find its history entertaining. A good listen for a long car trip.

The power of words

Although I chose this title out of curiosity about the principle characters, what I ultimately found most fascinating was the process of creating the dictionary itself. I had never given any real thought to the significance of cataloging the entire English language, how it contributes to our understanding of our culture, how in a very literal sense it gives us a common language and therefore common understanding. The undertaking was heroic in scope and Murray and Minor were just two of the many volunteers who worked for decades for the remarkable outcome. Minor's prolific contributions not only advanced the progress of the dictionary, but likely preserved his own mental health as a form of occupational therapy. The stories of the politics and competition as well as the dedication of various player made for a stimulating read. Simon Winchester did an excellent job reading his own work. Well recommended for those who enjoy historical non-fiction.

Very informative and in some places funny

It is hard to be an etymologist without being a keen wordsmith, therefore it's no surprise that this book is written with meticulous language. The writer's attempts to be droll in points, will only really appeal to intellectuals but I still enjoyed this very much. I was amazed to learn how the first dictionaries were created with an emphasis on the origin of words as opposed to the meanings. And the fact that there is a story behind the history made it more interesting, but as a writer, this book expanded my vocabulary exponentially. And I loved the specific examples of words with interesting origins. Great book. Clearly well researched. Didn't really enjoy the narration, it was good that the writer was the reader but he needed to hire someone with a more pleasant tone.

Wishing for more lexicography

I was somewhat disappointed with this book, but probably for the very reason that most people would find it enjoyable: Too much back story about the people and not enough about the making of the dictionary. The story is well written (and narrated), but I got tired of hearing about the foibles of the madman instead of more about compilation of the OED.

Potential not fully realized

Readers who would are looking for the focus to be on character development, of both the professor and the madman, are going to be disappointed. However, readers who want a great deal of the book?s focus to be the development of a dictionary, they?ll be very pleased.

This is an amazing story ? and perhaps a terrific film. But this book teases more than is satisfies ? as regards understanding the madman.

A special treat of the recorded book is an interview by the author after the story is told.

Wonderfully Bizarre

Any additional comments?

A wonderfully bizarre story about a mentally ill doctor that significantly contributed to the making of the Oxford dictionary. This one is enjoyable as it is strange. Defiantly worth a listen.

Fantastic book!

Any additional comments?

Superb book about the making of the OED--and the work of a contributor who happened to be a lunatic inmate of Broadmoor, the asylum for the criminally insane. I can't recommend this highly enough!

Interesting, but a bit didactic

This is both the story of Dr. Minor, a military doctor suffering from a lifetime of mental illness, and the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It was interesting to find out what a great contribution individuals made to the book (the largest contributions were made by Minor), as well as the how it took almost 70 years to publish completely. I also hadn't realized that is was originally published in stages, from A on through the alphabet, as it was compiled.