This second edition of one of the most comprehensive accounts of Scottish life and literature now focuses on Medieval to Victorian times, exploring the growth of the idea of a nation from the early ballads and oral tradition to the achievement of Burns, Scott and Carlyle. The modern literature which followed is discussed in the companion volume.

The first half of the 20th century witnessed two catastrophic global conflicts, with suffering on a scale that - thankfully - later generations find hard to comprehend. The full story of what it was like to endure these wars might never be told, because many who survived chose not to speak - or could not speak - of what they saw and suffered. But some could turn to poetry, to try and make sense of what was happening. This book brings together the best of Scotland's poetry from the two World Wars: 138 poems, from 56 poets, are represented here, from both men and women, from battlefields across...