Andy Briggs asked would I be a guest on this blog. At first I was unsure. What would I write about? What could I write about on a suitably monster theme?
But then came THAT e-mail.
The e-mail where Mr Briggs was congratulating me for being on the long list for the Carnegie Medal – oh JOY!
… Only to later admit that – sorry – actually he’d been looking at the WRONG LIST.
But all thoughts of penning a piece of revenge directed at Briggs disappeared when another theme, my truly monster theme, came to me!
It was the idea of LISTS that sparked it all off you see.
For there exists a list that shows there’s so much more to life than petty, if very justified, revenge.
I’m talking THE list. The King of lists. I’m talking THESAURUS.
(And not talking your ‘Shift F7’ variety either – dear me no!)
My trusty writing friend
(never tells me things that aren’t true,
not like You-Know-Who)
Yes, yes, I know I could use the on-line version! Call me old-fashioned, but I like the touch and feel of paper. I like gazing at those wonderful groupings, like Organic Matter and Possessive Relations and Creative Thought. I like marvelling at the many subtle shades of meaning.
But just who was Mr Roget?
Peter Roget
This man made lists.
And I’m not just talking about the kind for the next weekly shopping trip or to remind you to go to the dentist at 4:30. I’m talking about a long list.
A very long list.
A list on an EPIC scale!
A list that took a good four solid years of work to compile.
A complete list of words organised by their meanings.
A national archive of words!
Pick a word, any word…
London born Roget studied medicine at Edinburgh, and creating the thesaurus was a project started in his mid-twenties. But it wasn’t until he was in his seventies, after close to four solid years of work, that is was first published.
It was called, quite simply:
Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.
But Peter Roget had a good excuse for taking a while to get the job finished. Helping to set up the University of London, for example. (Thanks, Wiki!) Inventing the log-log slide rule and a pocket chessboard. Writing articles for the Encyclopedia Britannica. His ideas acted as a catalyst for early thinking in film making. An esteemed academic in physiology and health, Roget laid the groundwork for Manchester University’s School of Medecine and he was a founder of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Comfort in order
But there was a troubled side to Roget. He experienced tragic family events like the early deaths of his father and wife, and the suicide of a close uncle. With a family affected by mental illness, and himself prone to depression, some think Roget’s compulsive writing of lists may have been a coping mechanism.
Whatever the motives, few can deny that the compilation of the first thesaurus was a monumental achievement.
Plaque in honour of the man behind the Thesaurus.
First edition: 1852
Now there are some who have suggested that the Thesaurus is undignified for writers. That you can’t possibly have a true grasp of language if the 89 different versions of ‘list’ don’t immediately come to mind and you have to resort to looking them up.
I am not one of those people.
Molten spheroid incandescent in the cyanic firmament
Just don’t go OTT.
So let’s hear it for the Roget’s Thesaurus! First published 160 years ago this year.
(And, for the record, I have now nearly forgiven Andy. Although he will have to write out all the synonyms for ‘penitence’ before I will even think about speaking to him again.)
Repentance, remorse, sackcloth and ashes … Carry on then!
Ruth Eastham is the award-winning author of two books, The Memory Cage & The Messenger Bird .
Visit her website: www.rutheastham.com
Follow her on twitter @RuthEastham1