For Jean

Young Jean Armour was a pretty lass with the voice of a nightingale. She loved to dance. All these were enticing qualities that caught the eye of her suitor, Robert Burns, who rapidly fell in love with her. Though their courtship was passionate and tempestuous, their eventual marriage was enduring and, with remarkable force of character, Jean sustained her family through the vicissitudes of ill health and uncertain fortunes. Burns wrote many songs and lines of verse for her, or at least with her in mind. Until now, Jean has been inexplicably neglected by biographers and historians.

For Jean is a useful companion to Catherine Czerkawska's popular novel, The Jewel, all about Jean's life with and without her celebrated husband. This attractive volume has been collected and and annotated by the author, with a glossary and notes on each of the poems, and a revealing selection of Burns's letters to and about the woman who was arguably the love of his life.