Robert Burns (1759-96), is still widely considered Scotland's greatest poet and song-writer. His first poetry collection, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, a remarkable mixture of first-rate Scots poems, songs, verse letters, and poems in English, enjoyed an immediate and overwhelming success that would endure through the centuries.

In this important new biography, Ian McIntyre provides valuable insight into Burn's unorthodox life and political views as well as an extensive evaluation of his songs and poetry. Setting Burns rightly in historical context, McIntyre reveals the full extent of Burn's great intellectual energy and force of character that put him at odds with the orthodox religious and moral views of his time.

IAN MCINTYRE, educated at Cambridge University, served for nine years as controller of England's Radio 3 and is a former associate editor of the London Times. He is the author of a biography of David Garrick and a life of Lord Keith, the first director-general of the BBC.