Guilty by Definition
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Guilty by Definition
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Narrated by:
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Louise Brealey
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Jack Edwards
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Susie Dent
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By:
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Susie Dent
About this listen
When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary, it is rapidly clear that this is not the usual lexicographical enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at secrets and lies linked to a particular year.
For Martha Thornhill, the new senior editor, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing.
After a decade abroad, Martha has returned home to the city whose ancient institutions have long defined her family. Have the ghosts she left behind her been waiting for her return?
When more letters arrive, and Martha and her team pull apart the complex clues within them, the mystery becomes ever more insistent and troubling. It seems Charlie had been keeping a powerful secret, and someone is trying to lead the lexicographers towards the truth. But other forces are no less desperate to keep it well and truly buried.©2024 Susie Dent (P)2024 Bonnier Books UK
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What listeners say about Guilty by Definition
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Effit
- 20-08-24
no one puts suzie in the "dictionary" corner.
wow just wow. Hopefully this will not be the last. it's the Bodlean of books .....
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Chloe
- 23-01-25
Incredible
What a wonderful wonderful novel
The perfect amount of mystery and literature
Already excited for hopefully another instalment
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Redford
- 30-08-24
A splendid 'untwining'!
Guilty by Definition is a murder mystery, but above all a splendid feast of words.
After working in Berlin , Martha has returned to Oxford to join the lexicographers at the (fictional) Clarendon English Dictionary. Her sister Charlotte had been a valuable part of the team there, ten years previously when she had disappeared without trace. The mystery had never been solved. As Martha is happily settling back, the handwritten postcards start arriving. Strongly suggesting hint that writer knows what happened to Charlotte all those years before, each one carries a cryptic message buried in a Shakespearian quotation. Together the team involve themselves in the painstaking ‘untwining’ of these complex linguistic tangles which finally give up their secrets.
I loved it, as will all readers who are ‘philobiblists’ in general and lovers of acrostics, cryptic crosswords and etymology in particular. The gradually developed inter-relationships within the team make for very human characters. The particular strength of the book however is the inclusion of now obsolete English. The way s in which the subtleties of the literal and metaphorical meanings of these archaisms are woven into the story are sophisticated and stimulating. I particularly love ‘witship’ for wisdom, ‘injuritise’ to harden the heart, and ‘desiderate’to long for something that is lost. And how exactly right is to ‘grob’ meaning to search with one’s hand in the darkness!
The narration is adequate although mediocre but the recording includes a bonus: an interesting Epilogue in which Jack Edwards interviews Susie Dent about herself and the writing of her book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-09-24
Loved it.
I had a bit of a moment at the start of this book when I thought it wasn't for me - so pleased I didn't give up. Great story line, likable characters, excellent narration. Hope there's more to come!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- HMS-80
- 16-09-24
A great story & characters
I really hope this will be the first of many tales by Susie Dent. Louise Brealey voices the characters & story beautifully.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 28-11-24
Wonderful for wordsmiths
Excellent use of words and their history. Very well read with just the right tone.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs. Karen Proctor
- 17-10-24
Loving the use of words and being an avid reader of dictionaries myself I really admire Susie Dent
I loved the scrutiny of following the meaning of the letters from Corus but I found the idea of Shakespeare’s sister being his “muse” a bit unnecessary and unlikely, maybe that’s just me. I don’t think it’s necessary to question his enormous influence on drama and literature. They’ll always be questions of course but for me he epitomises that divine talent of engaging storytelling and unique understanding of human nature.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 19-10-24
Liked learning new words
The plot was good initially and then I found the resolution a bit implausible. Pity as I was invested!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sally A.
- 23-08-24
Excellent
Really enjoyed this book. Would be nice if first of a series. Sorry when it finished.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Linda
- 07-09-24
The language and format, giving the listener an insight into the world of the dictionary
As an audio, very occasionally l had to rewind as parts needed more concentration but this did not affect my enjoyment of the overall book.
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1 person found this helpful