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Last month, just weeks after her father died, Pip Williams found herself watching her relationship with him play out on stage. She was in the audience of the theatre adaptation of her hit novel The Dictionary of Lost Words.

“It’s been quite poignant attending the performances and seeing Brett [Archer] play Harry,” she says. “The relationship between Esme and Harry is very similar to the relationship I had with my dad.

Adelaide writer Pip Williams is the author of runaway success The Dictionary of Lost Words.Credit: James Elsby

“I feel so glad that I’ve been able to resurrect him through this book and now through the play. A little bit of him is always going to live on because people are embracing the character of Harry and the relationship he has with his daughter.”

The theatre adaptation that so moved Williams, created by Sydney Theatre Company and State Theatre Company South Australia, is set to tour to Melbourne in February, following sell-out shows in Adelaide and Sydney.

The Dictionary of Lost Words tells the story of Esme, whose father is compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. She sets about making her own – one that includes the words by and about women and working-class people that have been omitted by her father and his colleagues.

The 2020 book was a literary sensation: it was the first Australian title to be chosen by Reese Witherspoon for her book club; won a slew of awards, including book of the year at the Indie Book Awards; was translated into 28 languages; and sold more than 400,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand.

It’s now earning fans in its new form, as adapted by Verity Laughton and directed by Jessica Arthur.

Anthony Yangoyan, Brett Archer, Chris Pitman, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Rachel Burke and Angela Mahlatjie in The Dictionary of Lost Words.Credit: Sam Roberts

The author says that at book events over the past month – she is currently on the road off the back of her new book The Bookbinder of Jericho, a “companion novel” to The Dictionary of Lost Words – she has been approached by readers and theatre-goers who have loved the play.

“A lot of people who’ve loved the book have gone to see it,” she says. “Someone who loves a book is the most critical person of any adaptation, and I have heard universal praise for the stage production.

“Some people have come to my author talk because they’ve seen the play, but they’ve never read the book, and they enjoyed the play so much that it has made them want to read the book. I think that’s a real testament to how well the play has adapted the story.”

Mitchell Butel, artistic director of State Theatre Company South Australia, says The Dictionary of Lost Words was the first production in the theatre company’s history to sell out completely before its first performance.

“I think Melbourne audiences will be similarly enchanted and moved by this epic and intimate exploration of language, family and love,” he says.

Kip Williams, artistic director of Sydney Theatre Company, adds that the goal of touring productions like The Dictionary of Lost Words is to “plant them firmly in the Australian playwriting canon from the outset”.

At the very least, the production will be firmly planted in Pip Williams’ memory. She has now seen the play three times and plans to see it another three in Sydney, the city where she grew up. “I could probably be an understudy, though acting is not where my talent lies,” she says with a laugh.

Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars as Esme in The Dictionary of Lost Words.Credit: Sam Roberts

A separate TV adaptation is expected to follow – Highview Productions (Stan’s The Tourist), and Closer Productions (The Hunting) acquired the rights in 2022. A “book-concerto” based on the story, by Slovakian-Australian composer Marian Budos, Esme’s Words, is expected to premiere in 2024-5.

“While I wrote the book, I’ve been so happy passing it over to another creative to then do something different with it; to use their skills and creativity to make something new,” says Williams.

But could she have imagined her novel would have a life like this?

“No, who imagines that?” she says. “I used to dream of having a book published. And if I allowed myself to dream really big, I imagined myself on the stage at Adelaide Writers’ Week, talking to someone about the book I’d published.

“I feel a bit like a parent with a talented child. The talented child is doing their thing, and I’m just sitting in the wings, making sure that no one treats it badly. And so far, nobody has.”

The Dictionary of Lost Words is at Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne from February 17 to March 10.

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