In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Joshua Kendall chats with Gabriella about his choices while writing The Man Who Made Lists, his biography of Peter Mark Roget, the eighteenth-century polymath who created the legendary Roget’s Thesaurus.
Joshua shares with us why he felt compelled to write The Man Who Made Lists and the significance of the book’s title. The biography opens with a tragic scene involving Peter Roget, and Joshua discloses why he decided to start the story this way. He explains why he started each chapter with a long list of synonyms and how he reconstructed scenes from two centuries ago that overflowed with accurate historical details of famous people, events and settings. Joshua also describes the literary devices he borrowed from novelists to create a compelling narrative that keeps readers enthralled and caring about Peter Roget throughout his life.
‘Brisk and vivid, with Kendall colouring between the lines left by history.
Los Angeles Times
‘Kendall’s style…gets the job done with sympathy and speed.’
New York Times
‘Well written and persuasive.’
–Washington Post
Polymath, eccentric, and synonym aficionado, Peter Mark Roget had a host of female admirers, was one of the first to test the effects of laughing gas, invented the slide rule, and narrowly escaped jail in Napoleon's France. But Roget is best known for making lists.
After the tragic turmoil of his early life (both his mother and sister were institutionalised), Roget longed for order in his chaotic world. At the age of eight, he began his quest to put everything in its rightful place, one word at a time. This is the fascinating story of a driven man and a brilliant scholar-and the legacy he has left for generations.
Roget’s Thesaurus was a hit with the English public from the moment it appeared in 1852. Two years later, it was published in an American edition. Roget continued to revise and update his thesaurus until his death at 90, and his heirs kept the book going as a family enterprise for a century before Roget’s Thesaurus became a household name.
Joshua Kendall is a language enthusiast and an award-winning freelance journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and Psychology Today. He has also co-written three academic psychology books. Kendall is now working on a biography of Noah Webster, the author of America's first dictionary. For his outstanding reporting on psychiatry, he has received national journalism awards from both the National Mental Health Association and the American Psychoanalytic Association.
Learn More: joshuackendall.com