Robert burns biography book

In lengthy, deeply rewarding chapters, Crawford brings a poet's ear and a novelist's technique to bear to bring a lost world to life. Thoughtful but tough analysis dispels myths and sets us as near to a truthful account of Burns we are likely to get. It is an essential work. In short, it's a terrific tribute to the short life of an unlikely celebrity-poet.

Crawford makes a determined effort to situate the poetry within the contexts of both Burns's life and the Scottish history within which it was written. Himself a poet, the author appreciates Burns's achievement in verse; indeed without this sensitivity the biography would be little more than a collection of many sordid details. Slotkin, Choice "Robert Crawford, a fine poet himself, writes with subtlety and insight, drawing out the contradictions between Burns' defiantly republican sympathies and his need for aristocratic and government patronage.

This is a fine biography, and it is difficult to imagine its being surpassed for a very long time. But this one is genuinely useful. Evenhanded and earnest, it isn't the raciest version of Burns's high-octane career: Those who want a simplified story can look elsewhere. But The Bardwhile approachable and concise, sets a new standard for scholarly readings of Burns's life.

Andrews in Scotland, knows more about Robert Burns than Burns did--and is willing to share enough in pages to give you a real insight into the life and times of Scotland's national poet. Byrne, Newark Star-Ledger " Because Crawford is such an incandescent and engaging writer, his page book, despite its page chapters and sometimes page-long paragraphs, is something of a page-turner.

Andrews, Eighteenth-Century Scotland "I both admired and enjoyed this thoughtfully sustained and planned biography. It has its subject steadily in view, is the product of authentic independent research, and has both shrewdness, readability, and amplitude. It is well-edited, pleasingly robert burns biography book and attractively presented.

It must surely be now the first choice for anyone wishing to encounter Burns's life and poetry together. Review "Burns was a poetic genius and his life was the stuff of legend. Robert Crawford is professor of modern Scottish literature at the University of St. Read more. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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Verified Purchase. Burns has in the past 50 years come to be treated as a precious relic, to be adored, worshipped, referred to, but not much read. Part of what stoked his rise to fame was his insistence upon writing at least a part of his work in his native Ayrshire dialect. But his broader fame came at first from his English poems, through which he achieved a broader audience.

I found the book a great read but very intenese and a bit dense. The book contains an Acknowledgements section; a Reading Burn's Poems section; an Introduction; seven, lengthy chapters; a list of Abbreviations; a Notes section; and an Index. The book is full of quotes from letters and of course, the poems. Brian Willis. While the definitive Burns biography is yet to be written, this is the best available "popular" biography, as in not overtly academic in scope.

It's well done, accessible, covers the basics, explicates the key verses well, and doesn't engage too much in tabloid gossip, though Burns's life lends itself to that. I tried Mackay's bio, purchased at the Edinburgh Writer's Museum, but it read far too academically, although it appears he broke new ground with uncovering new personal ties and relationships and even illegitimate children, but was later criticized for academic practices.

This hits the right spot. A massive, thoroughly researched biography of Burns, who had enough fame while he was alive, and wrote and received enough letters, that Crawford can trace almost all of the poet's movements - which he does. Crawford's a friendly writer as well as being a painstaking reasearcher, and the last third of the book is really compelling as he shows how Burns' many sides an ambitious man flattering the great and good, while at the same time writing powerful egalitarian poetry; a womanizer - 'rake' is far too gentle - impregnating women left and right, and bragging to friends about his prowess, while swearing absolute fidelity and creating devoted love poetry were lived and performed.

It was slow going to get there, though, although admittedly that might be because I'm just a casual admirer of Burns' work - for readers with a deeper interest in the poet or the social world of 18th century Scotland, Crawford's detailed history could be deeply rewarding. Emory Grace. I'm not usually a robert burns biography book reader, but I read this in anticipation of delivering the Immortal Memory at a Burns' Night this year, and I was genuinely getting teary by the end.

Crawford does a lovely job of introducing Burns as a dear friend, tracking his life with thorough but not overwhelming detail, infusing his letters and poetry, both iconic and less known, to paint a beautiful picture of Robert Burns the man. I checked out a copy from the library, but I'll be buying my own soon. The second half was definitely better than the first half, which I found tedious and disjointed.

Robert Crawford has put together a tremendous amount of material. He has arranged it chronologically putting the poetic pieces, some never published before, along in the time where they are presumed to be written. One of Burns' best loved poems is appropriately and beautifully out of sequence as to writing, not publishing at the end.

Like most Burns "fans" I loved a few poems, but knew little of his oeuvre. I somehow imagined the life force he seemed to live and celebrate. Now that I know more of Burns and his work, my appreciation of the poetry is stronger, but as to the life force it will take a while for it all to settle in. His humble roots are never said to leave him, but Crawford shows how he must compromise and hold back to live among the royalists who control his job a kind of tax collector and "allow" him to publish his poems.

Early on he does public penance for the first of his affairs. Perhaps he decided it was not so bad, because sexual infidelity becomes a theme of his life.

Robert burns biography book

In it, he betrays not only people, but ideals; he idolizes the females who are raised to a life of leisure while getting servant and farm girls pregnant. Through much of his adult life there is someone pregnant by him whether he is married or not. There are probably women and offspring that history has not recorded. Burns died at age 37, as much a victim of illness as the medical treatment of his time.

His last dramatic, and somewhat redeeming act, could be construed as a statement of loyalty There is a lot here. Crawford presents it all in reportorial neutral prose, which is at times very stilted. Perhaps this is necessary, since it is one of the first modern biographies of Burns. I hope it is the first cut of the material, because the issues this book are worthy of more exploration.

Thought there would be more complete poems. Some poetry but only a few lines in relation to areas and people that inspired poems. It took several years from reading the first pages to finishing this tome. It has value for serious Burns scholars, but in terms of giving Burns's life in flow, of creating a sense of the man in his time, other biographers including Hans Hecht, Franklin Snyder, Maurice Lindsay and Robert Crawford have produced far more readable works.

Too often MacKey interrupts his story to explain where other biographers have erred, and so on. Most effective for me were the late details about Burns's excise work, and the Post Mortem chapter which outlines how the slanders against Burns's reputation blossomed and persisted. MacKay, like most Burns editors and critics, knows nothing of song craft.

While he excoriates George Thomson for replacing Burns's chosen melodies in his Select Melodies, on p. Additionally, Burns's title for this lyric is the same as the tune—"The Rosebud. He continues with this deplorable tendency to replace Burns's manuscript titles with their first lines: "The Dumfries Volunteers" is referred to as 'Does Haughty Gaul Invasion Threat?

When the alternate tune was adopted is a mystery. Since I have extensive knowledge of Burns's songs and the tunes he employed, it makes me suspect of the rest of the information in this work. Mackay, associated with the Burns Federation and editor of the Burns Chronicles did an extraordinary, in-depth research of Robert Burns's life from his birth to his eternal memory after death.

It is the "bible" for anyone who needs first hand facts about not only Robert Burns but also those who shared any portion of his life. For any shelf that contains Mr. Burns's poetry and songs, it is a sure guide to help understand the man himself. Janet "the Other Scot". It is sadly known in the scholarly world that this and many other books by this person are low-quality acts of plagiarism.

It should not even be on sale, as many other bookstores that have taken his books off the shelves. Shame on him and shame on Amazon. See more reviews. Top reviews from other countries. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book! Community Reviews. Search review text.

Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews. Leon McNair. At one robert burns biography book every Carnegie library in the United States had its obligatory bust of Burns — some 3, in all… there are still upwards of monuments to Burns, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Hokitika, New Zealand… Burns far outstrips Shakespeare… or any other poet for that matter… Burns can, and does, speak for himself.

He is now universally recognised as one of the greatest poets of all time… Not for nothing has he been dubbed the Bard of Humanity. With Burns, it was through his penmanship. His poetry and his prose, his songs and his letters, are littered with exclamations of humanitarian and egalitarian issues of the time, often outspoken and challenging current views — be it in slavery, liberty, governance, monarchy, politics, and social class.

Though himself born working-class, and vehemently opposed the rich opulence the upper-class indulged, Burns managed to break the social-barrier as a Ploughman — an occupation he carried on from his father, William Burnes, alongside his brother Gilbert with a modest plot of land to continual struggle in Mossgiel, Mauchline, even during the height of his fame - and converse and keep correspondence with the gentry of society, some of whom becoming his closest devotees and friends, circulating his published works even after his death.

And yet, the genius of Robert Burns - affectionally known as Rabbie Burns or Robin, is that he had versatility. Not only did he write to audiences with a message behind it, but he also wrote silly and fun poems; he wrote eloquent letters; he wrote and edited songs; he also made plays. His outspoken nature on politics and the French revolution sympathies often led him into bother with the gentry, and so some of his works were either published on later dates or almost secretively.