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hood farmhouse, while a statue of the
girl stands on a plinth overlooking
the River Clyde.
Graveyards
Perhaps you enjoy wandering around
old graveyards? Most of the tombstones
are inscribed with dates and
some offer further details. My inspiration
for writing about 18th century
Highland Mary began with a fascination
for her since childhood, as she is
buried in my hometown, Greenock
on the river Clyde.
Her grave stands in the large, ancient
cemetery and contains references
about her connection to Robert Burns, with a
lovely engraving of the couple. A small remembrance
garden has been added with a plaque
containing further details.
In Alloway in Ayrshire, the Auld Kirk where
Robert Burns used to worship is now a ruin but
the graveyard and tombstones remain, including
those of Burns’ father and his close friend, Gavin
Hamilton, who gets a mention in the novel. It
was from the Hamilton gravestone I found the
inscription: “The poor man’s friend in need, the
gentleman in word and deed.”
best research materials are books and journals that offer
accurate information about a historical figure. Those
written as close as possible to the period offer the most
immediate details, although some might be corrected
when more information comes to light.
A good example is the earliest book I could find about
Robert Burns, which was loaned to me by elderly
friends. First published in 1800, only four years after the
poet’s death, The Life of Robert Burns by James Currie
is a wonderful source containing Burns’ poems and
songs and many of his letters. Even more useful are the
notes at the end of many of the poems which set them in
context. This edition was published in 1838 and contains
“additional particulars, many of which were never before
made public.”
Another excellent book is Regency People by Ian Grimble
in which he has drawn together personal accounts
of the Regency period through the eyes of well-known
people at the time. From this, we can read some of Lord
Byron’s and the Duke of Wellington’s observations about
their society and people, plus Sir Walter Scott’s own account
of Scotland at the time.
Doesn’t it offer a more rounded picture of a famous
person when we read about them through a contemporary’s
eyes? As Robert Burns himself said in the poem
‘To a Louse’: “O wad some Power the giftie gie us, to see
oursels as ithers see us!”
One final idea is finding out about local societies and
clubs wherever you live, as they often provide a wealth
of historical information. The Greenock Burns Club, regarded
as the Mother Club, one of the first in the world,
has lots of archive material about Robert Burns and
Highland Mary.
These days, we are fortunate in having unlimited access
to the Internet for research, but there is nothing to beat
visiting a location where the past is still visible or reading
the personal diaries and letters of a historical figure.
Then we can use our imagination to give
them new life in books, as readers or
writers!
Photographs, Paintings and Postcards
Other great sources are photographs and paintings,
which can give an indication of a person’s
appearance and physique. Old postcards are often
collectors’ items and many offer scenes from the
past in particular countries or villages. The most
well-known painting of Robert Burns hangs in
many of the places visited, as well as several depicting
Highland Mary, all of which helped with
descriptions in the novel.
Secondary Sources
Once the original sources are exhausted, the next
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