Robert Burns: The Lassies

Robert Burns was fond of women, and his well-documented affairs have earned him a reputation as a rake and womaniser. It was said that he couldn’t just admire a lass, he would fall head-over-heels. And every woman that Burns loved became a flawless beauty with an equally flawless character. During his short life Burns wrote a great deal of poetry to or about women. Some were written as love poems or songs, intended to sway the heart of whoever had caught his eye, others in honour of a more casual acquaintance whose beauty or talents had impressed him in some way. Others were composed simply as a form of thank you. This is a collection of all these poems, each accompanied by a detailed history of Burns’ relationship with the subject. Was he the philanderer and rake he’s said to be? George Scott Wilkie looks at the letters, poems and sonnets – a collection covering over 80 women from his first flighty glance of a haughty laird’s daughter, through the women who fathered his children to the delectable, unattainable Clarinda.