Alexander McCall Smith

What really counts in this life? For the writer, Alexander McCall Smith, it is friendship and love—themes that crop up time and again in his novels. And it is these themes that he explores in this collection of poems, with moments that swoop and soar, and descriptions that will make you laugh and realign your view. This collection reminds us...

Catch up with the delightful goings-on in the fictitious 44 Scotland Street from Alexander McCall Smith... A Time of Love and Tartan offers a joyous, charming portrait of city life and human foibles, which moves beyond its setting to deal with deep moral issues and love, desire, and friendship. As the Sunday Express notes, it is truly a delightful experience....

Sunshine on Scotland Street witnesses the wedding of the century as Angus Lordie ties the knot with Domenica Macdonald. However, as the newlyweds depart on their honeymoon, Edinburgh is thrown into disarray. Matthew, still recovering from the trauma of being best man, is unexpectedly taken up by a Dane named Bo. Meanwhile, Cyril, eluding his dog-sitter, embarks on an odyssey...

It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry, owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation; and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds,...

As summer blooms in Edinburgh's gardens and Bertie Pollock's birthday appears on the horizon, all at 44 Scotland Street is not cake and sunshine. Newlywed Angus Lordie has been booked by his bride into what he must not call the loony bin; Bruce's first encounter with hot wax brings more anguish than he bargained for; and Bertie's birthday dreams of...

As well as its advantages, there are drawbacks to the enlightened village that is twenty-first-century Edinburgh, where every Saturday night ears burn at dinner parties across the city, and anyone requiring the investigative abilities of a philosophical soul knows where to find her. Jillian McKinlay—wife of a trustee of an illustrious school—is the latest petitioner; she asks Isabel to look...

Stories do not have to be long. In the space of a couple of sentences—or even a page or two—we may see the human heart exposed in a way that is more powerful than occurs in many much longer narratives. In Tiny Tales, Alexander McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness, and happiness in thirty short stories that range in length...

During WW2 there was a rumour that German spies were landing by parachute in Britain, dressed as nuns... Conradin Muller was an unusual spy. He was recruited in Hamburg in June 1943, much against his will, and sent on his first, and only, mission in late September that year. He failed to send a single report back to Germany, and...

As the editor of an applied ethics journal, Isabel Dalhousie is usually tucked away in her editorial office, in the comfortable Edinburgh house she shares with her fiancé and their young son, and does not often meet many fellow philosophers. But while helping in the delicatessen owned by her niece, Cat, she meets Jane Cooper, an Australian philosopher who is...

What if you met the person you were destined to be with? And what if you never saw them again...?There's a new case for the Perfect Passion Company. After a serendipitous meeting in a supermarket, Clea meets the man of her dreams. But having left suddenly without his phone number, she can't stop thinking about what might have been. Can...

The Perfect Passion Dating Company at No. 24 Mouse Lane in Edinburgh's New Town is run by Katie Donald who has an innate instinct for bringing people together. She has developed a skill for finding out what it is that people really want. Along the way, Katie learns profound lessons about her own desires as she works at better understanding...

It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but an old photograph can inspire many more. In this beguiling book, Alexander McCall Smith casts his eye over five chanced-upon photographs from the era of black-and-white photography and imagines the stories behind them. Who were those people, what were their stories, why are they smiling, what made...

Book 26 in the multi-million copy bestselling and perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series The rains are coming, but not just yet. When they do, there will be green shoots of growth throughout Botswana. Pumpkins will flourish—particularly those of Mma Potokwani, matron of a children's home and old friend of Precious Ramotswe. Mma Potokwani and Mma Ramotswe have...

As heard on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. It’s never too late to make a change. Single and approaching middle age, Maeve Macdonald feels she has reached a point at which, if she doesn’t do something drastic soon, life will have passed her by. And so, after twenty years of teaching, she gives up her career and leaves the...

A poet’s skill lies in their ability to distil complex themes into a few paragraphs; to pick out the fundamental quality in people that make us unique. They can describe nature in a way that makes us see its majesty. The poet traverses continents and political divides; they help us understand where we have come from, which in turn allows...

The Lost Language of Oysters is the latest book in Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and hilarious Professor von Igelfeld series. "It's impossible not to root for von Igelfeld" - Scotsman "A charming tale of academic rivalry and ill-fated infatuation... marvellous" - Scottish Field Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is not just any German professor—he is the author of that great work...

Six friends. One city. The time of their lives. It’s 1988, and on the verge of a reunion with friends she hasn’t seen since graduation, Julie recalls her halcyon student days of 1984 and the strange tumultuous time they lived through. The friends – each from a very different background – are living in a gorgeous terraced flat in their...

To find out where we are going, we sometimes need to find out where we came from. Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori Montagna, who is suffering from an acute identity crisis, wants to know more about her own past. After doing a DNA test, she discovers that she has a relative she didn’t know about. However, her new-found family causes a...

With an authentic Indian backdrop, this is a feel-good story of young kids chasing big dreams that shimmers with all of Alexander McCall Smith’s trademark optimism and joy. It is an outlook on life that makes him one of the world’s best-loved storytellers. Hari and His Electric Feet follows Hari, a dreamer with an unusual talent. He spends the few...

When writer Paul Stewart heads to the idyllic Italian town of Montalcino to finish his already late book, it seems like the perfect escape from stressful city life. Upon landing, however, things quickly take a turn for the worse when he discovers his hired car is nowhere to be found. With no record of any reservation and no other cars...

Glasgow for Bertie is the promised land. The city of pies and Irn Bru, far from his controlling mother, Irene—his place of escape. But how will he respond to the news of the proposed merging of Edinburgh and Glasgow? A new member of Bertie's class at school is causing ripples in his social circle. She is called Galactica MacFee and...

Revenge sometimes causes people to act blindly through anger, rather than reason. The characters in this devilishly delightful book are pushed to the point of no return and seek retribution. We meet an author taking part in a game show who will go to great lengths to show off his intelligence, but quickly realises that he can't—and doesn't—know everything. Opposing...

From the world's favourite author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, this novel is about chance encounters; it is richly atmospheric and packed with compassion and humour. Often a small and seemingly insignificant event can change the course of our lives. Not long after starting a new job, Neil meets Chrissie. Romance soon blossoms and together they move to...

THE SIXTEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE SERIES The one with Mma Ramotswe's summer holiday . . . The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine follows Mma Ramotswe as she takes a break, leaving important tasks in the capable hands of Mma Makutsi, co-director of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. However, Mma Ramotswe soon finds herself interfering...

Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher and amateur solver of other people's problems, meets an old foe, Minty Auchterlonie, at a birthday party attended by their young children. Ambitious Minty, now the head of a small investment bank, is in trouble with her shareholders. Isabel becomes involved and is drawn into a murky world of financial concealment. Minty is not the only high-flier...

This new collection is a fascinating journey into the heart of each of us, from the author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the 44 Scotland Street series. In I Think of You, the reader travels through literary Edinburgh in summer, experiences heartbreak in a rain-drenched glen in the Highlands, embarks on a voyage on the Argo in Ancient...

The Double Comfort Safari Club is the eleventh book in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The one with the difficult aunt . . . The No. 1 lady detectives of Botswana travel to a safari lodge in the Okavango Delta to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest. It is a beautiful place...

Jane has always been just a little bit different – she has springs in her knees! Support severely struggling readers with this hi-lo adventure with a spring in its step. Jane has always been just a little bit different – she has springs in her knees! She wins all the high jump competitions and can reach the top bookshelf, and...

Book 27 in the multi-million copy bestselling and perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series I am a fortunate woman to have such an eventful life, observes Mma Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Perhaps, but there are times when rather too much seems to be happening, and a quieter life might seem rather attractive. This latest...

Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico, is an oasis of old-fashioned civilisation, its inhabitants considerate and peace-loving. But beneath the polite exterior, seismic change is stirring. Barbara Ragg makes an eye-popping discovery about her stolid Scottish suitor's past, while Oedipus Snark, newly appointed and tirelessly self-interested Government Minister, has a close encounter in Switzerland that leaves him a new man altogether. Then, plucky...

The School Ship Tobermory and its intrepid young crew are back in Hebridean waters. When a violent storm blows them off course to a remote island, they discover a fisherman's journal written a hundred years ago which tells of a mysterious shipwreck crammed with treasure. But without a precise location, where do they start looking? An extraordinary chance encounter gives...

National treasure Alexander McCall Smith joins up-and-coming illustrator Zoe Persico in this utterly adorable story of family, acceptance, and difference. Part of Barrington Stoke's picture book range for all the family, with easy-read font. Jane has always been just a little bit different – she has springs in her knees! She bounce, bounce, bounces all over town and they call...

More than 20 well-known writers and celebrities share the travel experiences that shaped their personalities and changed their lives. Contributors include Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, Pico Iyer, John Berendt, Alexander McCall Smith, and Jane Smiley. About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world’s leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as...

In the genteel environs of Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico, strange doings are afoot, mostly in the name of love. Lonely William French and his faithful canine Freddie are recruited to the service of MI6 by a beguiling lady operative. William's neighbour Caroline finds her suitor James mysteriously lacking, and Barbara Ragg is tempted to the Highlands by blossoming romance. Meanwhile, sage...

The latest instalment from the beloved THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY series

A beautiful, heartwarming story set in Africa about a young boy and his yearning for a pet dog. From internationally bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. High quality cream paper and a special easy-to-read font ensure a smooth read for all. A beautiful, heartwarming story set in Africa about a young boy and his yearning for a pet dog. From internationally...

Bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith's charming account of how the poet W. H. Auden has helped guide his life - and how he might guide yours too When facing a moral dilemma, Isabel Dalhousie - Edinburgh philosopher, amateur detective, and title character of a series of novels by bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith - often refers to the great twentieth-century...