“I have only acknowledged the authorship to a single other person, except at your bidding.”

Further evidence of the extraordinary secrecy she maintained around her writing · Letter concerning the authorship of The Land o' the Leal

• Identity
• Privacy
• Writing

“I was present when it was asserted that Burns composed the 'Land o' the Leal' on his death-bed, but the parties could not decide why it never appeared in his works. I never answered.”

Showing the extraordinary restraint with which she guarded her literary identity · Letter to a friend on the authorship of The Land o' the Leal

• Humour
• Identity
• Writing

“I wrote it merely because I liked the air so much, and I put these words to it, never fearing questions as to the authorship.”

A rare first-person explanation of how one of her best-known songs came into being · Letter recalling the origin of The Land o' the Leal

• Music
• Poetry
• Writing