The Surgeon of Crowthorne - Simon Winchester

'This would be a good read for those of you who have already read 'Dictionary of Lost Words' by Pip Williams, a fictional telling of the compiling of the Oxford English Dictionary. You may also be interested in 'The Dictionary People' by Sarah Ogilvie, a book about the unsung people that helped create the dictionary. 

'What do three murderers, Karl Marx's daughter and a vegetarian vicar have in common?
They all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary.' Karen

Simon Winchester's The Surgeon of Crowthorne was an international bestseller and tells an extraordinary true story of murder, madness and an extraordinary friendship in the nineteenth century.

It is the tale of James Murray, the compiler of the first Oxford English Dictionary, and his most valued helper: Dr Minor of Crowthorne, who was also a homicidal lunatic, confined to Broadmoor asylum for murder.

This is an enthralling and beautifully written work of literary detection.