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The Forgotten Affairs Of Youth

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( 5,650 ratings, 596 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Isabel Dalhousie, editor of an applied ethics journal, leads a quiet life in Edinburgh with her fiancé and their young son. When she meets Jane Cooper, an Australian philosopher on sabbatical, Isabel becomes drawn into the mystery of Jane's past—specifically, the unknown identity of Jane's father. As Isabel helps Jane uncover unsettling truths, she also navigates the complexities of her own relationship dilemmas, particularly regarding marriage and her niece Cat's questionable romantic choices.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy thoughtful general fiction with philosophical undertones and intricate family dynamics set against a Scottish backdrop.

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* The latest adventure from Edinburgh's favourite philosopher, Isabel Dalhousie, out now in paperback.

* The latest adventure from Edinburgh's favourite philosopher, Isabel Dalhousie, out now in paperback.

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

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 spending a sabbatical in Scotland.

Isabel learns that Jane needs to find out something about her past. Jane was born in Scotland but taken to Australia as a baby by her adoptive parents. She knows who her mother is, but her father's identity is still a mystery. Can Isabel help Jane uncover this important and potentially unsettling information? And in Isabel's own life, there is the ever-present question of marriage, and also the perennially difficult issue of her relationship with Cat, whose choice of men is as dubious as ever.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith explores these intriguing personal dilemmas and the mystery of Jane's past, set against the backdrop of beautiful Scotland.

Series: Isabel Dalhousie Novels

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  • The Conditions of Unconditional Love
    BOOK 15 IN THE MUCH-LOVED ISABEL DALHOUSIE SERIES 'You can't go out of the house without tripping over a philosophical question.' That is a remark made by Isabel Dalhousie to Jamie, the bassoonist who is her handsome younger husband. Isabel's own life, of course, points to the truth of this observation: she seems to attract philosophical problems in much the...
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  • The Careful Use Of Compliments
    For the philosophically minded Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, getting through life with a clear conscience requires careful thought. With the arrival of baby Charlie, and a passionate relationship with his father Jamie, fourteen years her junior, Isabel enters deeper and rougher waters. Late motherhood is not the only challenge facing Isabel. As she negotiates a...
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  • The Geometry of Holding Hands
    The thirteenth installment of the much-loved Isabel Dalhousie series When Isabel Dalhousie and her husband Jamie book a table at an expensive Edinburgh restaurant, she finds herself battling with her conscience. Lately, there has been a lull in work for the Review of Applied Ethics, and the care of their young sons, Charlie and Magnus, is often undertaken by their...
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  • The Sweet Remnants of Summer
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  • The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
    Isabel Dalhousie leads an enviable life in Edinburgh, with time for cloud-gazing, civilised conversation and good coffee from Cat's delicatessen. Alongside these pastimes, she must also keep pace with the varied pursuits of her musician husband and their young son Charlie, who is exhibiting the first, rather worrying signs of mathematical genius. An unexpected appeal for help from a collector...
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  • A Distant View of Everything
    Recently distracted by the arrival of her and Jamie's second son, Magnus, Isabel Dalhousie – philanthropic editor of the Review of Applied Ethics – is anxious. The next issue of the Review is far from ready, her eldest, Charlie, is jealous, and their housekeeper, Grace, has an officious approach to childcare. With some relief, Isabel returns to helping out at...
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  • The Subtle Pleasures of Indiscretion
    The Subtle Pleasures of Indiscretion is the latest book in the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series. The surface of Isabel Dalhousie's life is usually a tranquil one. From her house in Edinburgh, she edits a philosophical journal. In the background is her long-time housekeeper, Grace, her handsome husband, Jamie, and her two small boys, Charlie and Magnus. Outside, under the cover...
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  • The Comfort Of Saturdays
    The Comfort Of Saturdays revolves around Isabel Dalhousie, a new mother and a connoisseur of philosophy who would rather not be a sleuth. However, a chance conversation at a dinner party draws Isabel into the case of a doctor whose career has been ruined, and she cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. For Isabel, ethics are not...
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  • Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
    Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends, sometimes of lovers, and on occasion of chocolate. As an Edinburgh philosopher, she is certain of where she stands. She can review a book called In Praise of Sin with panache and conviction, but real life is... well, perhaps a bit more challenging - particularly when it comes to her feelings for Jamie, a...
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  • The Conditions of Unconditional Love
    Book 15 in the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series
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  • The Conditions of Unconditional Love
    BOOK 15 IN THE MUCH-LOVED ISABEL DALHOUSIE SERIES 'You can't go out of the house without tripping over a philosophical question.' That is a remark made by Isabel Dalhousie to Jamie, the bassoonist who is her handsome younger husband. Isabel's own life, of course, points to the truth of this observation: she seems to attract philosophical problems in much the...
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  • The Quiet Side of Passion
    The Twelfth Installment of the Much-Loved Isabel Dalhousie Series It is summer in Edinburgh and Isabel Dalhousie is once again caught between 'gossip' and significant rumour. It is none of her business that Patricia, the mother of her son Charlie's little friend Basil, is estranged from Basil's father, or that the woman has a somewhat brazen attitude to childcare. And...
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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780349123875

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 August 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Abacus

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 200g

Pages: 256

About the Author

Following a distinguished career as a Professor of Medical Law, Alexander McCall Smith has turned to writing full-time. He is the author of over sixty books on a wide array of subjects, and his books have been translated into forty-five languages. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife.

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