Edith Thompson (1848-1929) was a historian and lexicographer. She wrote "History of England" the second volume of the "Historical Course for Schools", which was devised and edited by Edward Freeman, with whom she corresponded regularly. She was also a prolific contributor to the first edition of the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

. Along with her sister, Elizabeth Perronet Thompson, she provided 15,000 quotations for the dictionary. She also subedited the volume for "C" words and proofread volumes from "D" words onwards. Thompson was barred from university, as a woman, but did receive some recognition as an Honorary Member of the Bath branch of the National Federation of University Women. She and her sister, Elizabeth Thompson (1857–1930) lived at Beaconsfield Lodge in Bath. Elizabeth published a historical novel ''The Veil of Liberty, A Tale of the Girondins'' (1895) under her penname "Peronne" and ''A Dragoon's Wife, A Romance of the 17th Century'' (1907) under her own name. Thompson was the granddaughter of

Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He specialized in the grass-roo ...

, a notable abolitionist, about whom she wrote a biography that went unpublished.

In popular culture

Edith Thompson is a major character in

Pip Williams Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrange ...

' novel ''

The Dictionary of Lost Words ''The Dictionary of Lost Words'' is the debut novel by Australian writer Pip Williams. It was sixth on the list of Australian fiction bestsellers for 2020 and as of 18 January 2021 it had sold more than 100,000 copies. Plot summary Esme's m ...

'', where she mentors a fictional

goddaughter In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong ...

who works on the Oxford English Dictionary.

References

1848 births 1929 deaths 19th-century English historians 20th-century English historians English lexicographers 19th-century English women British women historians Women lexicographers 20th-century English women {{England-historian-stub