One Dictionary, Two Introductions: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 1941

Dictionaries of quotations typically reflect what was known and quoted in their own time and, as such, constitute documents of social, cultural, and historical, as well as literary, interest. Prefatory material can be of particular value in providing an insight into an editor’s (or publisher’s) view of the target audience and an understanding of what they believed their readers wanted. The first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, although compiled in the 1930s, was a wartime publication, appearing in 1941. It was published in separate British and American editions, with identical text but a different introduction for each market. While a comparison of the two introductions reflects differing responses to having been overtaken by world events, a detailed examination of the preparation of the book as recorded in archival sources and a consideration of the climate into which it was finally published show how a collection originally conceived a decade earlier turned out to be well-suited to the needs of readers in a more troubled time.