Robert Burns in Edinburgh
Published by Waverley Books in 2015, Robert Burns in Edinburgh is the result of over 5 years of painstaking research by myself, my co-author John McShane, and Illustrator Dave Alexander, which looked into every aspect of Robert Burns' life. The publishers bought into our idea of photographs and illustrations on every page, and the end result is a gloriously beautiful design by Mark Mechan at Waverley Books.
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Included are more than 100 illustrations by David Alexander and over 60 photos by myself of key people and places Burns encountered. There are also several easy to follow route maps and walking guides arranged by area and place/people.
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While John and I were researching, Dave was trawling through the antique sections of bookshops, friends collections, and also spent many days in the special collections area of The Mitchell Library.
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This was a time of the Scottish Enlightenment and Burns, entirely due to the foresight of his father, was educated from a young age. He was a child of the Enlightenment. By the time he was a young man, Burns had become very well read and amongst other skills was versed in latin, french and music.
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Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon
William Creech had agreed to publish a new edition of his poems, with the very prolific Burns providing new material. This edition was so popular that even before the printing of the first edition was complete, a much larger subscription was raised for a second Edinburgh Edition - which included yet more new work from Burns.
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This was a busy time for Burns who could be found working in the print shop in the daylight hours, checking and correcting proofs.
In Edinburgh, Burns came into his own. With the success of his book, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, and armed with letters of introduction to leading members of society in the
city, Burns had the confidence, knowledge and wit to find himself at ease in whatever circumstance he found himself.
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In Creech, Nasmyth and Buego, he found the friendship of fellow freemasons.
With the patronage of Dr Blacklock along with that of The Duchess of Gordon, who introduced him to the Caledonian Hunt and many others, he was a welcome guest at the many influential dining tables of the Edinburgh literati.
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Also included are short biographies of 60 incredible characters, all of whom have some direct connection with Robert Burns.
We also outline 32 places Burns frequented, many of which still exist.
Their locations are pinpointed in easy to follow maps of the city.
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A sample page from Robert Burns in Edinburgh