Title: Not quite Novel
Product review: Winchester's tome covers well trodden ground in a meticulous fashion. Its appeal to both American and English bookbuyers is granted but unfortunately it does not deliver on its strongly implied promises of mystery and intrigue. As a concisely constructed recounting and correction of facts about Dr Minor's contribution to the Oxford Dictionary it is very interesting but could have taken but a few pages in a magazine such as 'Vanity Fair' (not quite a novel's worth of reading !).The author's liking of repetition in his prose is also offputting rather than tension building. Bill Bryson's tome on the history of the English language covers much broader fields more lucidly and without the pretence for those interested in the history of our language.
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