If ever a poet understood the character of his nation, that poet was Robert Burns. The language in which he was most fluent wasn't so much Scots, it was the language of the heart. All too human in his personal life, he carried that humanity over onto the page. Nothing was too small or too large to escape his notice, from a mouse in the mud to God in his heavens. A poet for all seasons, Burns speaks to all.

From the library of Sir Malcolm Fraser, Bt., G.B.E., (1878-1949) a naval captain, editor and vice-chairman of the Conservative Party.

Library edition, number 564 of the 600 copies for the United Kingdom of the total edition of 750 copies, signed by the publishers in each vol.; 4 vols, 8vo (22 x 14 cm); portrait frontispiece of the poet to each vol., mild spotting to edges of text block with the odd one encroaching onto the odd page edge but otherwise near-fine internally; near-contemporary full polished calf by Hatchard's, 187 Piccadilly, maroon title-piece to spine panels, otherwise gilt tooled, gilt panels and dentelles to boards, top edge gilt, some minor fading and the odd mark to boards, otherwise very good indeed.