What best might soothe the savage breast of one so floridly insane as W. Simon Winchester on William Chester Minor's watercolours. The binding design depicts Minor at work in his cell, while the endpapers give examples of the intricate word-lists he created. The images in this edition were obtained with the help of Minor's descendants, and feature three of his previously unpublished watercolours, two of which he produced at Broadmoor. In his superb introduction, Will Self considers the political and cultural significance of Murray's venture.
As a result of this grievous affair, Minor became one of the most prolific contributors to the OED. The courts swiftly deemed him a 'Certified Criminal Lunatic' and sent him to Broadmoor, the 'newly built showpiece of the British penal system'. Minor was a former assistant surgeon in the US Army sensitive, educated and artistic, but tormented by paranoid delusions.
Here Murray's life became intertwined with that of Minor, the man behind the murder dubbed the 'Lambeth Tragedy'. At the heart of his approach was the use of quotations to illustrate evolving word definitions, a gargantuan task which in turn depended on a network of volunteer 'lexical detectives'. For more than half of its 70-year development, Murray had been principal editor.
The 12-volume first edition of the OED was completed in 1928. 232 pages frontispiece and 12 pages of colour and black & white plates. Bound in buckram, blocked with a design by Tim Laing. But Murray might not have succeeded without the assistance of the other protagonist in this curious tale: American murderer and Broadmoor inmate, Dr William C. Simon Winchester's captivating book known in the US as The Professor and the Madman recounts the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), whose existence we largely owe to the Scottish polymath James Murray. This is a story that is sad, uplifting and strange a story of murder, madness and extraordinary achievement, revealing what is surely one of the most singular partnerships in the history of human endeavour. 'One of the most amazing stories of modern scholarship. A tale of murder, madness and a truly remarkable partnership, this edition of Winchester's highly acclaimed work features previously unpublished watercolours and an illuminating introduction by Will Self.
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