The Great Fire of Edinburgh, 1824 TAGS: 1824 | Great Fire of Edinburgh | William Home Lizars This year marks the bicentenary of one of the most destructive events in Edinburgh’s history, the ‘Great Fire’ of 15-21 November 1824. In this blog, Ash Mowat, a volunteer in …Continue reading →

John Augustus Bonney’s History of the Tower of London TAGS: John Augustus Bonney In this post, Ash Mowat, a volunteer in the Civic Engagement Team, looks at a manuscript history of the Tower of London written by a political radical who was himself …Continue reading →

Peter Gallegan’s Collection of Irish Songs and Poems TAGS: Irish Literature | Peter Gallegan | Saint Patrick's Day To mark St Patrick’s Day, we thought we’d highlight a remarkable volume of Irish songs and poems that is in the University’s donated collections (ref. Coll-1366). The book was copied …Continue reading →

Rediscovering the Poetry of Louisa Agnes Czarnecki, a 19th-Century Edinburgh Writer and Musician Today we are publishing a blog by Ash Mowat, a volunteer in the Civic Engagement Team, on a little known 19th-century Scottish poet. The Edinburgh-born Louisa Agnes Czarnecki (née Winter) …Continue reading →

A Scottish Witness of the Great Kantō Earthquake To mark the centenary of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, we are publishing a blog by Ash Mowat, a volunteer in the Civic Engagement Team, which explores the archives …Continue reading →

Come Hither: Walter de la Mare and the Young of All Ages TAGS: Walter de la Mare The English writer Walter de la Mare was born 150 years ago this week on 25 April 1873. To mark his anniversary, we are publishing a blog by Ash Mowat, …Continue reading →

‘Nothing is Here for Tears’: Helen Cruickshank Bids Farewell to F. Marian McNeill TAGS: F. Marian McNeill | Helen B. Cruickshank This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of folklorist F. Marian McNeill on 22 February 1973. Edinburgh University Library holds the manuscript of a memorial poem written by …Continue reading →

William Drummond’s ‘Flowres of Sion’: A Unique Copy of a Major Work TAGS: William Drummond of Hawthornden This year marks the quatercentenary of the publication of Flowres of Sion (1623), an important volume by William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585-1649), one of Scotland’s major 17th-century poets and one …Continue reading →

Good Riddance to an ‘Intolerable’ Year: James Hogg Bids Farewell to 1831 To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of James Hogg (1770-1835), we are featuring a peculiarly timely manuscript from Edinburgh University Library’s collections. Hogg’s poem ‘1831’ will strike a …Continue reading →

Bicentenary of Sir Walter Scott’s ‘The Abbot’ TAGS: Corson Collection | Joseph Mallord William Turner | Mary Queen of Scots | Sir Walter Scott This week marks the bicentenary of Sir Walter Scott’s twelfth novel The Abbot, published in Edinburgh on 2 September 1820 and in London two days later. Alone among the Waverley …Continue reading →