Illustrious Exile: Journal of My Sojourn in the West Indies by Robert Burns, Esq. Commenced on the First Day of July 1786 [Paperback]

In 1786, Scottish poet Robert Burns was penniless and wanting to escape the consequences of his complicated love life when he accepted a position as overseer on an estate in Jamaica. This fictional journal, supposedly discovered in an Amerindian village in 1998, cleverly fills in the blanks as to what might have happened next. The story tells of a brilliant man who becomes mixed up in the world of sugar and slavery, and whose propensity for falling in love, his humanity, and his urge to write poetry follow him to the islands. The author draws on historic sources to suggest how Burns might have responded to slavery and pastiches of Burns' poetry add to this inventive reconstruction.

Andrew O. Lindsaytaught English at Madras College in St. Andrews, Scotland, and is a former president of the St. Andrews Burns Club.

An ambitious and highly readable novel about a historical figure with a continuing hold on the imagination.