The Professor and the Madman

Mysterious(mistie-ries),a.f.L.mysteriumMysteryi]ous.Cf.F.mysterieux.]1.Fulloforfraughtwithmystery;wraptinmystery;hiddenfromhumanknowledgeorunderstanding;impossibleordifficulttoexplain,solve,ordiscover;ofobscureorigin,nature,orpurpose.ItisknownasoneofthegreatestliteraryachievementsinthehistoryofEnglishletters.Thecreationofthe"OxfordEnglishDictionary"beganin1857,tookseventyyearstocomplete,drewfromtensofthousandsofbrilliantminds,andorganizedthesprawlinglanguageinto414,825precisedefinitions.Buthiddenwithintheritualsofitscreationisafascinatingandmysteriousstory--astoryoftworemarkablemenwhosestrangetwenty-yearrelationshipliesatthecoreofthishistoricundertaking.ProfessorJamesMurray,anastonishinglylearnedformerschoolmasterandbankclerk,wasthedistinguishededitorofthe"OED"project.Dr.WilliamChesterMinor,anAmericansurgeonfromNewHaven,Connecticut,whohadservedintheCivilWar,wasoneofthousandsofcontributorswhosubmittedillustrativequotationsofwordstobeusedinthedictionary.ButMinorwasnoordinarycontributor.Hewasremarkablyprolific,sendingthousandsofneat,handwrittenquotationsfromhishomeinthesmallvillageofCrowthorne,fiftymilesfromOxford.OnnumerousoccasionsMurrayinvitedMinortovisitOxfordandcelebratehiswork,butMurray'sofferwasregularly--andmysteriously--refused.Thusthetwomen,fortwodecades,maintainedacloserelationshiponlythroughcorrespondence.Finally,in1896,afterMinorhadsentnearlytenthousanddefinitionstothedictionarybuthadstillnevertraveledfromhishome,apuzzledMurraysetouttovisithim.ItwasthenthatMurrayfinallylearnedthetruthaboutMinor--that,inadditiontobeingamasterfulwordsmith,Minorwasalsoamurderer,clinicallyinsane--andlockedupinBroadmoor,England'sharshestasylumforcriminallunatics."TheProfessorandtheMadman"isanextraordinarytaleofmadnessandgenius,andtheincredibleobsessionsoftwomenattheheartofthe"OxfordEnglishDictionary"andliteraryhistory.Withrivetinginsightanddetail,SimonWinchestercraftsafascinatingglimpseintooneman'storturedmindandhiscontributiontoanotherman'smagnificentdictionary.