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This Word-Book is presumably the only work of Jonathan Swift's not
in print, until now. Since the 1690s, Swift had been formulating a
list of words and definitions for his protege Esther Johnson,
beginning with terms from the Book of Common Prayer. His was
apparently an ongoing list, kept rather haphazardly, with open
spaces for adding new words. About 1710, when Swift was in London,
Johnson, in Dublin, set out to formalize the dictionary, copying
out Swift's words and definitions to make an orderly and careful
book with no blank spaces. Probably in 1713, when Swift returned to
Ireland, Johnson presented her Word-Book to him, but his
school-masterly corrections of her work may have offended her.
After Johnson's death in 1728, Swift gave the Word-Book to their
mutual friend, Elizabeth Sican. It was passed down over
generations, until in 1976, the young American Swiftian A. C.
Elias, Jr., bought it, intending to edit it in his old age. Before
his early death in 2008, Elias asked John Fischer to assume the
challenge of bringing the book into print. Fischer took on the task
until 2015, when he too passed away, after which his wife Panthea
Reid completed the task. This volume includes illustrations from
the original book, a transcript of it with schematic indications of
Swift's corrections, as well as essays and appendices by Fischer
and Elias tracing provenance, exploring the social and
psychological milieu in which the book was written, and tracking
Swift's work as a lexicographer. Published by University of
Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.
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