Scottish Bards and English Printers: Robert Burns, Gavin Turnbull’s ‘Epitaph on a Miser,’ and Conjectural Emendation

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Article

Abstract

Identifies Gavin Turnbull (1765-1816) as author of a short poem Robert Burns had sent for publication in Peter Stuart's newspaper The Star, in May 1789, and that Stuart had thought to be by Burns; discusses textual errors in the poem as printed in the Star, first by conjectural emendation and then with reference to two other early printed texts; and relates this to general issues of determining linguistic authenticity in editing Scottish texts.

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