I have experienced a few eureka moments in my career – usually the result of sheer luck or serendipity. In late 2021, I was part of the Editing Burns in the 21st Century team working on the new Oxford University Press edition of the Complete Works of Robert Burns. I had been granted rare access to the collections of Barnbougle Castle on the Dalmeny Estate by the River Forth, near Edinburgh.
Many will recognise the castle as the setting in the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Maggie Smith. The materials there had been assembled by former prime minister (1894-5) and Earl of Rosebery, Archibald Primrose, who was a formidable historian and leading expert on the Scottish bard.
