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sir walter’s locks – the writers’ museum

text and photo andrea weil

You might know the three classic Scots novels Treasure Island, Ivanhoe and Scots Wha Hae. But did you know there’s a museum dedicated to their authors? Many discover it because the Lady Stair’s House, built in 1622, catches the eye with its stone tower and high windows. Half of the main room is occupied by the museum’s shop, which sells exquisite hardcover editions of a wide range of authors. If you just want to sit down for a good read beyond the glow of the shadow-casting chandeliers on the red walls, there’s a small library available in the gallery. In the exhibition, timelines trace the authors’ personal stories against the historical background of their time. How did farmer’s son Robert Burns become such an influential poet? Why did Walter Scott publish his first novel, Waverley, anonymously? Why did Robert Louis Stevenson spend his later years in Samoa, where the ink was, as he described it, “dreadful”? You might find, though, that the museum doesn’t reveal the same level of depth about each of the three. Some visitors may be thrilled to see a lock of Scott’s hair, but it hardly adds the kind of perspective on the author that the photos of Stevenson’s journeys do.

Tip: On most Thursday afternoons, a member of the venerable Robert Louis Stevenson Club Edinburgh is to be found downstairs chatting with visitors about his favourite writer.

Lady Stair’s House, Lady Stair’s Close, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PA.

Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm (in August only).

www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk