I’m going to post photos so we get an idea about James Murray and the development of the dictionary.
OED: An original copy of the 1879 appeal
OED: A Chronology of the dictionary
Oxford Dictionaries Blog: A letter from Dr Murray
OED: A History of the Contributors
Wanna know what Broadmoor looked like? I know I do! Here’s some pictures:
The BBC: Broadmoor Hospital: Inside a Victorian ‘lunatic asylum’
Getty Images: Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum Pictures and Images
I think something important to bring up when it comes to this book is the idea of Post Traumatic Stress and its effect on W.C. Minor. First, here are definitions of PTSD by the National Institute for Mental Health as well as the American Psychological Association.
Here are articles that address this idea of PTSD and the Civil War. While at the time they would not have recognized mental disorders in the way we do today, I think it’s worthwhile to explore this subject on how the perception of mental illness has changed or not changed from the 19th century until now.
New York Times – PTSD and the Civil War
Smithsonian Institute – Did Civil War Soldiers Have PTSD?
U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs – History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-V
History Welfare Network- Dying to Get Home: PTSD in the Civil War
Here is an interview with the author, Simon Winchester.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?112280-1/professor-madman
Just a note: you will have to skip to about 23 seconds into the video because it’s C-SPAN and they leave in dead air in their archived videos. Also, if you’re not up to watching the full 58 minutes they have it transcribed under the video to read.
The book for May is The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. The discussion will be May 22nd (due to the holiday) in the usual time and place.
If you have a friend who wants to join the discussion they can pick up a copy of the book at the Circulation Desk on the library’s 1st floor.
