100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Thanks for supporting our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore ❤️ Open Sat & Sun until 5pm

The Private Side of Friendship

A Standalone Novel
3.71 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 35 ratings, 4 reviews)
Brief Description
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... Read More
Format: Hardback
$4000
Elsewhere:
$4499
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Edinburgh, 1984. Six students are facing the end of an academic year, preparing to go their separate ways in a changing world. Years later, they meet for a reunion, for what may well betheir last evening together. It soon becomes clear to all that sometimes you have to let go of the past. You take away its lessons, but you let the rest go.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 Edinburgh idyll. As they navigate relationships and the unspoken rules of flat sharing, the troubled world all around them seems rather distant. But in the nearby hometown of one of the flatmates, the Miners' Strike is bringing about a huge political shift.

Despite their differences, can these six strangers help each other see the world from a different perspective? Is there such a thing as being too close? And what are the limits of love between friends?

The Private Side of Friendship by Alexander McCall Smith invites readers to explore these questions through a nostalgic and insightful lens.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781846977299

Publisher: Birlinn General

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 02 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 392g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Alexander McCall Smithis the author of the highly successfulNo. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the44 Scotland Streetnovels, first published as a serial novel in theScotsman, theIsabel Dalhousienovels, theVon Igelfeldseries and theCorduroy Mansionsnovels.

Also by Alexander McCall Smith

View all
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    Wayward daughters. Missing husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple, but she's got warmth, wit, and canny intuition on her side,...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Full Cupboard Of Life
    The Full Cupboard Of Life continues the delightful story of Mma Ramotswe, who remains engaged to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni following the events of the first book. Yet, she finds herself pondering when a date for the wedding will finally be set, all the while being careful not to exert too much pressure on her fiancé. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, however, has...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Miracle At Speedy Motors
    BOOK 9 IN THE BELOVED NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one with the poison pen letter . . . For the first time in her career as Botswana's no. 1 lady detective, Mma Ramotswe suffers a blow to her faith in the goodness of humanity (and of her neighbours in particular) when she receives a threatening letter. But she...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
    As the countdown to Mma Makutsi's wedding begins, all is not as it should be at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. While investigating unpleasant occurrences on a southern cattle-post, Mma Ramotswe, always on the side of the weak against the strong, has reason to reflect on Rule No.3 of The Principles of Private Detection: never lie to the client. Apprentice...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
    As Botswana awaits the familiar blessing of the rains and the resumption of the eternal cycle, seismic upheaval is taking place at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Not only is Mr J. L. B. Matekoni attempting to reform himself into a modern husband, but after her marriage to Phuti Radiphuti, Mma Ramotswe's challenging but irreplaceable associate Mma Makutsi has...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Limpopo Academy Of Private Detection
    Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have always relied on the advice of the classic guide to their trade, The Principles of Private Detection. But who is the eminent author, Mr Clovis Andersen, and what if he were to come to Botswana? That seems a very unlikely possibility, and yet... When Mr Andersen visits Botswana on holiday, he is delighted and...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
    Even the arrival of her baby can't hold Mma Makutsi back from success in the workplace. No sooner does she become a full partner in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency—despite Mma Ramotswe's belated claims that she is only 'an assistant full partner'—she also launches a new enterprise of her own: The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café. Grace Makutsi is...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Precious and Grace
    Precious and Grace is the seventeenth book in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The one with the woman who lost her past . . . Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi's friendship is tested by a curious case: a client who left Botswana thirty years ago and remembers little of her past. The quest for the truth takes...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Colours of all the Cattle
    The nineteenth book in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series The one with the election . . . When Ramotswe enters politics to oppose the construction of the dubious-sounding 'Big Fun Hotel', her opponent turns out to be local troublemaker, Violet Sephotho. But the general air of excitement cannot eclipse important matters of detection. Charlie, assigned a mysterious...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Joy and Light Bus Company
    Catch up on the latest from Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, and other favourites in this new instalment of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. "Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation" - Mail on Sunday Mma Ramotswe knows she is very lucky indeed. She has a loving family, good friends, and a thriving business doing what she...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Song of Comfortable Chairs
    THE ONE WHERE MMA POTOKWANI SAVES THE DAY A Song of Comfortable Chairs follows Grace Makutsi's husband, Phuti, who finds himself in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market, and their slick new advertising campaign seems hard to beat. With Mma Ramotswe's help, however, Phuti devises a campaign that may just...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • 44 Scotland Street
    Immediately recognisable are the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership of Scotland's most exclusive golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented five-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian. Then there is Domenica Macdonald who is that type of Edinburgh lady who sees...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

More from Historical Fiction

View all
  • New Release
    The Parisian Chapter
    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and The Librarians of Rue de Picardie comes a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and writes her own Parisian chapter.'Stirring and rich with detail' New York Times...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Inferno
    AD 60. Nero Claudius Caesar is Emperor. He is feared for his temper. He is known to be intoxicated by the power he wields. And why not? The Roman Empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia. Nero is god of all he surveys. Yet dangerous traitors lie close at hand. Generals commanding legions. Senators whispering...
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Circle of Days
    From the master of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Soldier's Daughter
    The heart-stopping new blockbuster by the bestselling author of The Fallen Woman. Violet Nash has grown up in the shadows of her father Charlie's shattered dreams. It's been years since he walked away from the battlefields of France, a WWI hero but his heart in tatters, only to see it broken all over again in the worst way possible. In...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Girl with the Suitcase
    The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author. London 1941 When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth, she realises their lives couldn't be more different. But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground, Mary's life is set to change forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Lost Bookshop
    Evie Woods' stunning new novel The Story Collector is available now. The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • All the Diamonds in Paris
    Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Listeners
    ‘By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling’ CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss'...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Song of Achilles
    The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a brilliantly crafted retelling of the ancient Greek epic of Achilles and Patroclus, transforming the classical myth into a profoundly moving love story. Set against the richly depicted backdrop of Greece during the heroically tumultuous age, the narrative follows Patroclus, an awkward and exiled young prince, who is taken to the court...
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Mythos
    Mythos by Stephen Fry is a compelling retelling of the classic Greek myths, reimagined with a wit and elegance that only Fry can deliver. This volume transports the reader to a world where mortals intertwine with the divine, and the timeless tales unfold in a spellbinding narrative that captures the imagination. From the cosmogony—the birth of the cosmos—to the exploits...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Four Winds
    Kristin Hannah is a classic storyteller and The Four Winds sees her at the top of her game - Matt Haig Powerful and compelling - Delia Owens, number one international bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing A story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery and hope. I loved this book so much! - Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Lost Apothecary
    Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardised when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.