The Guidman’s Daughter

 

95 page hardback

Maclean Dubois 2009.

Distributed by Birlinn Ltd.

ISBN 9-780951-447062

 

‘Henry Marsh is one of the finest poets writing in Scotland today. His delicate, beautifully expressed verse has already achieved critical and popular acclaim. Whatever the topic of the poem, the voice is consistently wise, and gentle too; the effect is both subtle and moving.

 

The title of the collection refers to a cycle of poems concerned with Mary, Queen of Scots. It is impossible not to be intrigued by the life of this tragic figure, and the poets observations, so skilfully wrought, only add to the poignancy of her ill-fated tale.’

Alexander McCall Smith

 

From reviews of The Guidman’s Daughter:

 

‘The title sequence in The Guidman’s Daughter is a work of really impressive depth, compression, and power.’

Professor Edward Mendelson, Columbia University

 

‘The book has touches of real brilliance…stamped with Marsh’s knack for seeking out beauty of universal importance within the smallest of nature’s offerings…The cycle of poems about the Queen (Mary, Queen of Scots) is Marsh’s tour de force… at the end of this volume all Scotland glitters under (his) touch.’

Charlotte Runcie, The Scotsman