Robert Burns Books

It's such a relief to have the Siete Partidas available in this attractive, reasonably priced set. The venerable Robert I. Burns has given it a wonderful general introduction and the index increases its accesibility even more than the very clear translation does. No more ploughing through paragraph after paragraph of Old Spanish, in 19th-century print, to get to the enlightening and even entertaining ideas that so well characterize the 13th century and give sociological background to any kind of medieval research.

I am in grad school and this is one of my required texts. I will say that after having had it for a couple of months now, the information is relevant to the class and easy to read. The price for all my textbooks were better on Amazon. I just searched using the ISBN number to make sure I had the right one.

This book presents a large number of songs, many not well known, and suprisingly beautiful and melodic. There is a respect for Burns and an apreciation of history and accuracy. The arrangements are unusually excellent, often simple, and so intriguing and exactly right -- sometimes pleasantly quirky -- beautiful.

Much of this volume of some eighty-five folk-lyrics on erotic themes is probably the work of the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). It was privately printed c. 1799 under the auspices of the Crochallan Fencibles, an Edinburgh men's club to which Burns had been initiated in 1786 or 1787 by his publisher William Creech, a founder of the group. Some of the texts included are undoubtedly by other hands; but as the Fencibles surreptitiously published this as a tribute to Burns within a few years of his death, it is reasonable to assume that much or most of it is by the poet himself. The Fencibles have usually been viewed merely as a drinking club, fraternal and convivial. But recent research has emphasized their subversive Jacobite and Jacobin sympathies as well. When in Edinburgh, Burns enjoyed composing bawdy songs for the enjoyment of his "brothers" at the Fencibles, who regularly met in Dawnie Douglas's tavern in Anchor Close to sing bawdry together. After 1789, when he moved to Dumfries, Burns continued to compose bawdy songs (often, like "When Princes and Prelates" with a revolutionary subtext), mailing them to cronies like Robert Saughton, also a member of the Fencibles.

This volume contains the (often corrupt) text of some twenty songs that also exist in Burns's handwriting--material usually omitted because of its erotic content from popular editions of Burns, but included in the standard scholarly edition (Kinsley, Clarendon, 1968). At least twelve of these songs are there established as fully the work of the poet, with a further nine identified by Kinsley as collected and transcribed by him as curiosities.

It is the other sixty-five texts that make this rare _Merry Muses_ volume (there are only two known copies of the 1799 edition) an invaluable resource. The Thomas Cooper Library of the University of South Carolina acquired it when the great Burns editor G. Ross Roy, an emeritus professor at USC, donated his large collection of Burnsiana and Scottish literature to the USC library. Most Burns scholars (including Prof. Roy, who contributes a lucid separate pamphlet describing the complex history of the volume) see the non-authenticated texts in _The Merry Muses_ as Scottish folk erotica added by various members of the Fencibles, or perhaps collected by Burns (an avid preserver of folk traditions). But having looked carefully at the contents, I consider all but five or six of the songs to be either the work of Burns himself or pastiches in which Burns revises as frequently as he transcribes. My reason--based on contexts rather than texts, so not authoritative--is the emphasis on mutual consent. In his signed and authenticated songs, RB is notable for this emphasis on consensual sexuality. The erotic song tradition in Scottish folk literature is, by contrast, rife with cautionary tales of rape and incest, but there are only a few such songs in this collection.

The very existence of this book was denied for more than a century by Burns admirers who were embarrassed by its frank sexual content: this denial was easily enough accomplished with only two extant copies of the work, one of them in the private hands of the Earl of Rosebery! But it is time for admirers of the poet to consider the bawdy songs of Burns. They are definitely obscene: some texts use Scottish vernacular obscenities such as "mow," but others make plentiful use of standard English and the f-word. But as the scenarios (typically--there are exceptions) emphasize the mutual joys of adult consensual sex, I think the term pornography is not quite accurate. The imagery is sometimes gross and shocking, but an episode of "Sex in the City" is more spicy. These obscene song-lyrics (the names of the suggested tunes are specified, but no music is printed) are better read as telling artifacts of masculine (masculinist?) culture during the Age of Enlightenment than as embarrassments to Burns's Immortal Memory. The poet lived a short, painful life, enduring the daily symptoms of terminal heart disease from his teens. Love and liberty--sexual as well as political freedom--were the great concerns of his poetry. For Burns, the composition of poetry (and the sharing it with kindred spirits) were his anodynes for poverty, social oppression (Burns is British literature's only great peasant poet), personal unhappiness, and chronic poor health. Like it or not, the bawdy element in Burns is fundamental to understanding his views on language, poetry, and human liberation. There are two modern editions of _Merry Muses_, but the notes in both cases are marred by sexism and poor scholarship. This facsimile is expensive, but all the profits go to the USC library by Prof. Roy's generous agreement. If you're looking for pornography, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking to understand the total Robert Burns in Scottish cultural context--and to gain insight into the inner demons and drive behind his writng--you'll be surprised and enlightened.

This is a very good book and mix of information about Robert Burns. All of the people who entered articles in this book truely wrote from thier hearts and the love they have for the works and life of Robert Burns.

There are few poets more beloved than Burns. His lyrics and his songs were even in his lifetime celebrated and loved. They reflect his own passionate and perhaps often too loving nature. The story of the country Scots' boy whose writing fame led him to dissipation in Edinburgh is also the story of a great lover( His wife Jean Armour and Mary Campbell were the two most famous)
and celebrator of that love.
Many of his lines live in the everyday life and mind of English speakers everywhere. New Years Day is the day of his 'Auld Lang Syne' and most of us have known the wisdom given in his 'To a Mouse'( The best laid schemes o'mice an men, Gang aft agley, An lea'e us nought but grief an pain, For promised joy.)
Poetic anthologies of English verse unfailingly contain samples of his work. Among the most well- known are ( O My Luve is like a red, red rose, that's newly sprung in June: O my luve is like the melodie, That's sweetly played in tune.) and (Flow gently ,sweet Afton.Among thy green braes, Flow gently , I'll ing thee a song in thy praise; ).
The Scots may be difficult at times, but the poems are direct, simple , clear and powerful in feeling.

Robert Burns is the greatest common man poet of all time. I love him!

I absolutley loved this book of fiddle duets. The individual parts are not terribly difficult and yet the combination of the two parts results in exquisite harmonies. Each tune has parts for 2-3 violins, has words, guitar chords, and also indicates the metronome setting at which the piece is intended to be played. The CD is lovely and helpful. The proper pronunciation for each number is given (thank you!), it is played in full parts and then is played again with just the melody line so that you can play the harmony part along with it. At 13.95 it is a real bargain. The pieces are all by a single composer but the variety is still good. I would highly recommend it. I also bought the Mel Bay Deluxe Album of Fiddle Waltzes and Slow Airs which is also a duet book with CD. I was bitterly disappointed. The songs sound very much alike and are very "schmaltzy". If you're debating between those two the Burns book is the way to go, hands down.

To say the least, THE TINDER HEART is the best biography of Robert Burns ever written. I have each page tagged with "Post-It's" in order NOT to turn down the corner of a single page. I have written; however, in every available space. This book covers the essence of whom and what Robert Burns was. Hugh Douglas took the years of Burns life, broke them down into the different periods of life as to where he lived, and explained each in great detail. Timelines, to me, are of great importance. Within this portrait of Burns, the "Clarinda/Jean Armour" time period is significant. "Ae Fond Farewell" has an entire new meaning to me. One needs to read THE TINDER HEART in order to understand my comment. This is only one instance where Mr. Douglas taught me more than I would have learned from anyone else!

Not only did he do this but he also quoted from other Burns biographies. The full spectrum is awesome! I looked at some of the other authors' books but none can compare to the great writing ability of Mr. Douglas. He kept me reading from page to page without want to put this book down!

I'm sure the fact that Hugh Douglas also hails from Aryshire has a lot to do with the brilliance behind his writing this particular biography. One of my wishes in life is to meet this writer of impeccable ability and talent to make one understand the true personality of the "ploughman poet." I have gone from a beginner in knowledge of Robert Burns to an American of Scot heritage that is proud of the fact that because of THE TINDER HEART, she knows much more about the National Bard (N with a capital N, and B with a capital B) of Scotland. Many of Burns escapades aren't boasted nor toasted on Burns Night. Mr. Douglas brought to life a real man whose realism got him into trouble a lot of times but who still wrote magnificent poetry. Robert Burns was passionate not only about his women but also his children, family and friends.

If I were to choose one biography out of the lot written about Robert Burns then THE TINDER HEART by Hugh Douglas is the one to purchase! You need NOT spend your money elsewhere!

Cheers! Janet "the Other Scot"

A good, simple and easy to follow collection of Robert Burns' favorite tunes. The simple melody line is given; print and scores are easy to read. A nice size if one is using them for a sing-a-long.