1934 Gaelic Songs of Mary Macleod : Poetess of Harris & Skye : Dust Jacket

Gaelic Songs of Mary Macleod

Edited by J. Carmichael Watson

Published by Blackie & Son, London, 1934. First Edition. Hardback book in original dust jacket. 8vo. 158 pages including the index.

CONDITION
A good first edition. The dust jacket has no clipping and is in good condition with just a small mark to the front panel. The jacket is now protected in a removable mylar sleeve. Boards and spine are good. All contents present and pages good throughout. Spotting to page edges show when book is closed but this doesn't affect the pages. Small neat name to front endpaper. Overall a very good copy.

Mary Macleod (born 1569, Rowdil, Harris, Inverness, Scot.—died 1674, Dunvegan, Skye) was a Scottish Gaelic poet who is a major representative of the emergent 17th-century poetical school, which gradually supplanted the classical Gaelic bards.

Macleod’s poetry is written in simple, natural rhythms and incorporates much of the imagery of the bardic poets. It mainly deals with the heroic exploits of the Macleod family and expresses her deep emotional attachment to the family. She spent most of her life at the Macleod household of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, acting as nurse to successive generations of chieftains. Only a few of her poems survive; among these, her tender and nostalgic elegies for the dead Macleods are notable for their fresh style and sincerity of feeling.

(Platform : Scotland 1)