Margaret "Peggy" Thompson, later Margaret Neilson, was the housekeeper at Coilsfield House or Montgomery Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. She married John Neilsen of Monyfee. The couple lived at Minnybae Farm near Kirkoswald. She was the 'charming Fillette' of Robert Burns fame and her husband was an old acquaintance of the poet.
Full view of the Naysmith portrait of 1787, Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Robert Burns, also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
Portrait of Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787, Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
The Burns Cottage in Alloway, Ayrshire
Inside the Burns Cottage
Title page of the Kilmarnock Edition