Valentines Choice for 2009: Scottish Romance
O my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly played in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile.
Polygon's collection, Love for Love, contains contributions from 50 Scottish and international poets writing in English, Scots and Gaelic. Stewart Conn's anthology 100 Favourite Scottish Love Poems contains a mix of traditional and modern love poems.
If short stories leave you all a-flutter, then you might enjoy Outlandish Affairs, an anthology of international amorous encounters.
With a rugged and beautiful landscape, it is little wonder the Highlands and Islands of Scotland inspire passion and romance. There are many steamy tales of wild Highlanders and fiery-haired women in our Romantic Fiction category, with authors such as Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Amanda Scott, Hannah Howell and Claire Delacroix writing popular bodice-rippers. Not that the men on the covers bare much relation to any highlanders we've seen... and it'd be far too cold up north anyway.
Learn more about Scottish romantic fiction in Eileen Ramsay's article Oh, Power of Scotland, and Maggie Craig's rather different perspective in Is Scotland Afraid of Romance?.
Evelyn Hood writes romantic sagas such as Birds in the Spring, her most recent novel, which is now available in paperback. Her next novel Fortune's Way is set in Paisley in the early 19th century and will be published in the spring. Jessica Stirling's most recent book is A Kiss and a Promise (and if you think that men are hopeless at romance, be sure to check out the true story behind Stirling's success). Diana Gabaldon is very popular on both sides of the Atlantic and combines convincing historical research and epic love stories - try Voyager or Cross Stitch.
Don't forget the classic Scottish writers, such as Lewis Grassic Gibbon and A Scots Quair or Nigel Tranter. John MacKay has written The Road Dance, a heartbreaking romance during the Great War in the Hebrides.
Getting Married in Scotland
If your have already found your true love, then where better to seal the knot than Scotland? Madonna chose Skibo Castle to marry Guy Ritchie, but if your finances don't stretch that far there are plenty of alternative - check out VisitScotland.com's guide to Getting married in Scotland.
The Scottish Wedding Book by GW Lockhart is a guide to the traditional Scottish wedding, whereas Marianne Rogerson's Your Scottish Wedding has a more modern outlook. And if you are coming to Scotland for the authentic tartan experience, try Eric Merrill Budd's Scottish Tartan Weddings: A Practical Guidebook.
For a church wedding, 1000 Churches to Visit in Scotland is a practical guide to 1000 Scottish churches, while John R Hume's Scotland's Best Churches is an illustrated guide to the architecture of over 150 of Scotland's best churches.
The Scottish Poetry Library have produced an anthology of Scottish poems suitable for weddings (and, I dare say, civil partnerships). Handfast is named for a traditional marriage ceremony in Scotland and Ireland.
