Burns by James A Mackay
A biography of Robert Burns, arguably one of the world's greatest poets. This work places him and his poetry in the context of the period in which he lived. In many respects Burns remains an enigma to this day, and controversy continues to overshadow and obscure much of his life. Even the manner and cause of his death remains a subject which is hotly debated. There are many discrepancies and contradictions, myths and half-truths, distortions and outright falsehoods which prevail to this day, some created or connived at by the man himself and many others perpetrated by previous biographers who had a certain axe to grind. Not the least important aspect of this new work is a re-appraisal of earlier biographers and a re-examination of their sources. Another new dimension has been the study of the lives of those with whom Burns came into contact, those who influenced the course of his life and the quality and range of his work. This life of Scotland's national poet is set against the world in which he lived and the events which shaped his outlook. The Scotland in which Burns lived was in ferment, in which the old religious orthodoxies werre being challenged, in which the ideals of the French Revolution threatened the political status quo, in which the agricultural and industrial revolutions were rapidly transforming everyday living, in which the philosophy of the Enlightenment and the Augustan age in literature were overturning the way in which people thought and read. All these left their mark on Burns, and he, in turn, left his mark on them.
Dr James Mackay was one of the foremost and most prolific authors on stamps and stamp collecting in the world. He wrote over 100 books and thousands of articles on the subject of stamps and other collectables such as coins, antiques and bronzes, and published Philatelic Terms Illustrated (Stanley Gibbons). He had one of the largest private collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world. James Mackay's published works include: Commemmorative Medals (A Barker); Collectables (Macdonald); The Banknote Yearbook (Token Publishing); and Dictionary of Turn of the Century Antiques (Ward Lock).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781851584628 |
| ISBN 10 | 1851584625 |
| Title | Burns |
| Author | James A Mackay |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 1992-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 672 |
| Prizes | Winner of Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award 1993 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |