Growling in the Kennel of Justice

“When my father died, his all went among the hell-hounds that growl in the kennel of justice” – Taken from a letter from Robert Burns to Dr. John Moore as he explains his family history.

In unfolding the backstory of the Bard’s life and working through the voices of 22 lawyers from Burns’s era, Allan Nicolson subtly unravels a tale at once familiar and new – even startling at times. Blending Burns’s verse, correspondence and law reports of the time, Nicolson has been able to build up a novel analysis of the legacy of the Scottish poet.

Steeped in the atmosphere of that era, the narratives are peppered with details of bank failures, land disputes, bankruptcies, threats of dismissal, court actions for breach of copyright, and support claims for Burns’s many illegitimate children, which, alongside the poet’s verse and correspondence, reveal hitherto unexplored areas of life in late 18th century Scotland. The accounts confirm the grip the upper class had on Scottish society at that time, maintained by judicial bias and political patronage.

Personal accounts of their recollections of the poet are provided by a range of lawyers – all of whom knew Burns – including judges, advocates, local solicitors in provincial towns and one of Scotland’s leading institutional writers. The most eminent narrator is Sir Walter Scott, an advocate who met Burns only once but who assisted in raising funds for memorials to the poet, and who had much to say about his politics as well as his lasting contribution to British literature. The educational elements and bold legal research will provide the reader with an idea of how the legend of Robert Burns came into being.

Allan Nicolson graduated in law in 1970, after which he became a solicitor in practice in Glasgow. In 1982, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, but later returned to practice as a solicitor until 2006 when he retired. Allan then developed his interest in Scottish history and literature, and it was after attending a course on Burns at Edinburgh University that he was inspired to begin writing his historical debut.