‘The Usurpers’ by Willa Muir
We recently celebrated the publication of a novel which had waited 70 years to get into print. This is Willa Muir’s ‘new’ novel, The Usurpers. Two typed versions of the manuscript, and a few pages of a handwritten…
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When books go missing…
In 1456 the Faculty of Arts at the University recorded a decision to install library furniture ‘in a small room at the end of the big school’, and acknowledged gifts of books from two donors to begin the library. The…
Lady Literate in Mathematics
Did you know that the University of St Andrews created one of the world’s first higher educational qualifications for women, allowing them to study university-level mathematics long before they were admitted onto…
Scottish Gaelic in the Collections
This week is World Gaelic Week (Seachdain na Gàidhlig) – an initiative to celebrate Scottish Gaelic across the globe. In this blog we highlight some of our collections across archives and rare books relating to the…
International Day of Women and Girls in Science – Chemistry at St Andrews
The United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed on the 11th of February each year to promote equal access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This year, we…
Robert Burns Night
People in Scotland, and all around the world, will be cutting into a haggis today or lifting a wee dram to the memory of Robert Burns, our national poet. Like many Scottish libraries, St Andrews has many editions of…
James David Forbes Collecting Prize 2022: A glimpse into the history and practice of South Indian Classical dance
We are pleased to announce that the winner of the James David Forbes Collecting Prize 2022 is Lakshmi Thiagarajan, who graduated last year with an MA in Management and Philosophy. In this blog she tells us about her…
The Yule Days – Day 13 – ‘Three stalks o’ merry corn’
The king sent his lady on the thirteenth Yule day, Three stalks o’ merry corn, three maids a-merry dancing, Three hinds a-merry hunting, an Arabian baboon, Three swans a-merry swimming, Three ducks a-merry laying, a…
The Yule Days – Day 12 – ‘Three maids a-merry dancing’
The king sent his lady on the twelfth Yule day, Three maids a-merry dancing, Three hinds a-merry hunting, an Arabian baboon, Three swans a-merry swimming, Three ducks a-merry laying, a bull that was brown, Three…
The Yule Days – Day 11 – ‘Three hinds a-merry hunting’
The king sent his lady on the eleventh Yule day, Three hinds a-merry hunting, an Arabian baboon, Three swans a-merry swimming, Three ducks a-merry laying, a bull that was brown, Three goldspinks, three starlings, A…