Maclehose, Agnes (1759–1841)

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Maclehose, Agnes (1759–1841)

Scottish woman who corresponded with Robert Burns under the name Clarinda . Name variations: Agnes M'Lehose; Clarinda. Born Agnes Craig in 1759; died in 1841; daughter of an Edinburgh surgeon; grandniece of Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746, a mathematician and natural philosopher); married James Maclehose (a Glasgow lawyer), in 1776 (separated 1780).

Two years after her separation from James Maclehose, a Glasgow lawyer, in 1780, Agnes Maclehose moved to Edinburgh where she met the poet Robert Burns at a party in 1787. Maclehose corresponded with Burns under the name Clarinda until 1794. Their correspondence was published in 1843.