Letters by Robert Burns dating from 1787 onwards are being placed online for all to see in a major digital undertakingby the National Trust for Scotland, as the conservation charity preparesto begin work on a new museum to provide a fitting legacy to the bards life.

Letters of Burns go online

Letters by Robert Burns dating from 1787 onwards are being placed online for all to see in a major digital undertaking by the National Trust for Scotland, as the conservation charity prepares to begin work on a new museum to provide a fitting legacy to the bards life.

The letters – to be found at www.burnsletters.wordpress.com - reveal many sides to Burns and his character as he writes to friends, colleagues, literary magazines and other companions he encountered throughout his rich, colourful life.

More than 90 letters will appear online on the dates they were originally written. Visitors to the site will be able to leave their thoughts and comments underneath each newly added letter.

Fresh content will be placed online regularly, until the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum opens in July 2010.

The site also contains links to the National Trust for Scotlands fundraising pages where people are encouraged to donate a sum in order to help the Trust raise the last GBP 4 million needed to fully realise the GBP 21 million Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.

The museum will be one of the UK's most culturally significant and impressive visitor destinations. This world-class attraction will be the largest project the National Trust for Scotland has ever undertaken and will epitomize Scotlands proud heritage, celebrating the life and work of one of Scotlands greatest figures – Robert Burns.

Chairman Shonaig Macpherson said:

Placing Burns letters online will give historians and the general public another fascinating insight into Burns, his work and his viewpoint of the times he lived in.

In the period from 1787 to 1789 we see many sides of Burns in his letters. The great love poet can seem cold in his correspondence with friend Robert Ainslie, but he is then flowery in his love letters to Mrs Agnes McLehose - codename Clarinda - while a more factual and reflective side is seen in other letters.

One of the aims of the new museum is to show every side to Burns and these letters are an early way of people seeing how complex a character he truly was.

It is the latest stage in the Trust using social media and web2.0 to increase Burns appeal to a new generation. It joins the Trust& Twitter project where people receive up to three lines a day of Burns poetry on mobile phones, laptops, computers, iPhones and iPod Touch.

In his foreword to the site, Project Curator for the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum David Hopes said: Reading Burns in the prose of his letters is a completely different experience from dipping into the poetry which made him such an icon. His letters share the freshness and variety of his poetry and musical lyrics, but reveal more of the man.

Burns wrote to an astonishing variety of individuals from James Cunninghame the 14th Earl of Glencairn and David Erskine the 11th Earl of Buchan, to notable literary figures – Dr John Moore and Dr Thomas Blacklock, to bosom companions such as Robert Ainslie.

Burns also chooses the letter at this time as a vector for his political opinions and to broadcast his work, writing to the editors of newspapers of the time such as the Belfast News-Letter and the Gazeteer.

The protracted correspondence with James Johnson, Mrs Dunlop of Dunlop, Alexander Cunningham is always stylish and one could tell that Burns enjoyed the challenge of writing on some of his favourite subjects; politics, philosophy, music, and women; to people he clearly respected.

Burns evidently took great pride in letter writing which developed studiedly over this period as he became perhaps more conscious of his reputation as a published poet. The letters become more consciously crafted and knowingly artful.

Ends

Editors Notes:

The National Trust for Scotland ;is one of Scotland’s leading conservation charities, which relies on the financial support of its members to fund its important work of caring for the natural and cultural heritage of Scotland for everyone to enjoy.

You can join the National Trust for Scotland for as little as GBP 5 per month for a family. To become a member, visit http://www.nts.org.uk/Join/Benefits/.

Issued by DADA on behalf of the National Trust for Scotland

For further information please contact:

Craig McGill This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / 0141 222 2266/ 07703-175-151

National Trust for Scotland Press office:

Sarah Cuthbert-Kerr/ 0844 493 2483/ 07713 786 277