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The poetry of Helen Craik (1751–1825), Gothic novelist and friend of Robert Burns, was long thought lost. The rediscovery of her manuscript Poems by a Lady (1790), transcribed and annotated here for the first time, invites a fresh evaluation of her life and work. From short satires and verse-letters to longer dramatic monologues of psychological introspection, these thirty-nine poems offer an invaluable insight into her social circle in the Dumfries area and her wide literary interests, demonstrating the distinctive imagination later seen in Craik’s novels. The introduction discusses Craik’s biography and the major themes in her work, casting new light on why, two years after finishing these poems, she suddenly left home and family. With full notes on each poem’s background, and additional source material, this volume adds significantly to Craik scholarship and to the critical reassessment of poetry by Scottish women in the Romantic era.

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Contents:

Preface and Acknowledgements
List of illustrations
Introduction

Poems by a Lady: The Beinecke Manuscript

    ‘To Captain Riddell’
    ‘Lines Written at Sea by the late Queen of Denmark during her Passage to Stade—1772’
    ‘To R: O: Esqr’
    ‘To Lady W: M: Constable, with a Bird of Paradise’
    ‘Intended to be sent with a Neck Pin which was made with three Golden Balls’
    ‘The following Lines were supposed to be written by Mr. Hackman while under sentence of Death
        for the murder of Miss Reay—1779’
    ‘To Mr. D: from Goat Whey Quarters’
    ‘To a Lady’
    ‘To a Gentleman’
    ‘Written by Charlotte at Werter’s Grave’
    ‘A Charade—to Mr. D:’
    ‘The Soldier’s Joy—A Song’
    ‘To a Gentleman—Written after riding through a Mountainous part of the country’
    ‘The Rt Honble: the Earl of Caithness to Miss D:’
    ‘To Lady—’
    ‘Lines written upon a blank leaf of Mr. Burns’s Poems’
    ‘To a Lady Sent with a few Flowers, in return for some beautiful artificial ones’
    ‘A Charade’
    ‘To Indifference’
    ‘Lines written in a Summer House, under the Initial Letters of a Gentleman’s name’
    ‘To Captain Riddell’
    ‘The Maid of Enterkin’ (Preface)
    ‘The Maid of Enterkin’
    ‘The Following Lines were occasioned by a Humourous Court Martial held and written by two Officers
        on some Ladies who had disobliged them’
    ‘To Miss D—’
    ‘Lines Written upon Hearing a Gentleman Complain of the Instability of Human Friendships’
    ‘To Miss M: M:’
    ‘Lines Written upon the Death of J: H:— in the East Indies’
    ‘The Ghost of Queen Mary—occasioned by a beautiful Poem, written and sent me by Mr. Burns’
    ‘Helen—An old Scots Tale’ (Preface)
    ‘Helen—An Epistle to a Friend’
    ‘To Sir W. G. Baronet—written upon his sending me his Profile some years ago’
    ‘Lines occasioned by a reperusal of the foregoing Epistle to Sir W. G. Baronet—written some years
        afterwards’
    ‘To a Gentleman’
    ‘Epitaph Upon the Honourable Mrs S—’
    ‘The Indian Maid—A Tale—Intended for a Companion to the Harp’
    ‘The Indian Maid—Part Second’
    ‘An Epitaph on a Friend’
    ‘The Monk of la Trappe—A Tale’ (Preface)
    ‘The Monk of la Trappe—A Tale—Written by himself, and found in his cell’
    ‘Lines Written upon hearing that a circle of Mr. E***’s intimate friends had received the accounts of
        his death with the utmost indifference’
    ‘Lines written extempore, occasioned by a perusal of Mr. B****’s Travels’

Appendix I: Helen Craik’s Memoirs of Her Family

    ‘Letter, Miss Craik to James Grierson, Esq., dated Flimby, 13th April, 1810’
    ‘Letter, Miss Craik to James Grierson, Esq., dated Flimby, May 1810’
    ‘To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine’ (1811)

Appendix II: George Neilson, Samuel Arnott, and ‘The Romance of Helen Craik’

    Samuel Arnott, Extracts from ‘Some Kirkbean folklore’
    George S. Neilson, ‘The Maid of Enterkin: Poems by Helen Craik and Burnsiana’
    Part 1: ‘The Maid of Enterkin’
    Part 2: ‘The Social and Literary Circle, 1790–1793’
        ‘A Card from J. M., Esq.’
    Part 3: ‘Old and New: “A Monody” to Davie’
        Robert Burns, ‘Written in a Window at Stirling’
        [Robert Burns, attrib.], ‘A Monody on the Fatal 29th Decr., 1789’
    Samuel Arnott, ‘The romance of Helen Craik of Arbigland’
        Extracts: ‘Lines Written in the Summerhouse at Arbigland, 15 February 1792’
        ‘Lines addressed to Miss Young on receiving a present of a Tartan Handkerchief’
        Extracts: ‘Lines Addressed to Miss Staig with the foregoing Poems’

Writings by and about Helen Craik, with other sources cited and consulted
Index of Titles and First Lines

Cover image:
William Nicholson (1781–1844), Portrait of a Lady in Rustic Costume with a Sheaf of Wheat
Photo: Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

Cover design:
Mark Blackadder