Scottish history is unarguably rich and a number of notable anniversaries are looming, not least the quincentenary of Flodden in 2013 and the 700-year-anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in 2014. There’s no better time, then, for Scottish History in Verse.

This unique anthology consists of some 230 poems and songs that mark various Scottish occasions and celebrate famous Scots. Topics range from the Carron Ironworks to the launch of the Hillman Imp, from Hardicanute to Georgie Porgie, from Somerled to John Maclean, and from James Watt to Ronald Ross. Places stretch from Clydebank to the Zambezi. Burns and Scott are there of course, but so are Shakespeare and Southey, not to mention W.N. Herbert and Robert Crawford.