author
Janet Little
1759–1813
Remembered as the "Scotch Milkmaid," this Scottish poet turned everyday rural life into lively verse in Scots. Her path from domestic service to published author makes her one of the most distinctive labouring-class voices of the late eighteenth century.
1 Audiobook
The poetical works of Janet Little, the Scotch milkmaid
by Janet Little
About the author
Born near Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire, Janet Little received only a basic education, but she developed a strong love of reading and writing. She worked in service and later became known for poems written in Scots, earning the nickname "the Scotch Milkmaid."
By the late 1780s her writing had attracted attention beyond her immediate community. She entered the circle of Frances Dunlop, an important patron of Robert Burns, and her work was published in The Poetical Works of Janet Little, the Scotch Milkmaid in 1792.
Little later married John Richmond and is sometimes listed as Janet Richmond. Though not as widely known today as some of her contemporaries, she remains an important Scottish poet whose work offers a vivid, grounded view of working life, feeling, and ambition.