Inside the Mind of Robert Burns

Writer Alan Bissett explores the complex brain of Robert Burns in a quest to discover the real man behind the myths and reveal the conflicts in his life and work Burns was a poetic genius but full of contradictions He was a lover of women and an exploiter of them a Republican firebrand and a socialclimbing government excise man an advocate of freedom who almost became a Caribbean slave master Alan examines the groundbreaking research that suggests that the poet suffered from bipolar disorder a condition that led him to have severe mood swings