Books by Alexander McCall Smith

The next charming and heartwarming installment in the classic THE NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY series, from bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. This is Mma Ramotswe's twentieth wonderful adventure.

The new Botswana book from bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, this is Mma Ramotswe's nineteenth wonderful adventure.

Fans around the world adore the best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's premier lady detective. In the first book of the bestselling series, Mma Ramotswe - with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi - navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humour and the occasional cup of tea.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, not to mention Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, the charming proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And Precious is going to need them all as she sets out on the trail of a missing child, a case that tumbles our heroine into a hotbed of strange situations and more than a little danger . . .Delightfully different, THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY offers a captivating glimpse of an unusual world.Includes a sneak peek of The Colours of all the Cattle, the latest instalment in the beloved NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE series!(The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is the 1st book in the series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order)

The latest in the hugely popular 44 Scotland Street series from the worldwide bestselling author, Alexander McCall SmithLife for Bertie seems to be moving at a pace that is rather out of his control. Upstairs, at 44 Scotland Street, his father Stuart is powerless to stop over-bearing Irene and her determination that Bertie will travel to deepest, coldest Aberdeen on a three-month sojourn. Can his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson save the day? And can the boys execute a great escape? Meanwhile, further up in the New Town, Bruce Anderson's property development plans are thwarted by a sudden crisis of conscience that leads to a shocking revelation. And, in Big Lou's cafe, it seems that love might blossom at last.Warm hearted, humorous and always wonderfully wise, Love in the Time of Bertie offers philosophical insight as well as sartorial elegance. There are tribulations as well as celebrations in this the next instalment in the 44 Scotland Street series.

Roll up! Roll up! The Shortbread Family Circus is in town! Introducing the first tale in The Big-Top Mysteries, an exciting new series from Alexander McCall Smith and illustrator Sam Usher.

Beloved and bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith lends his delightful touch to the Austen classic, Emma.'It's comfort reading at its most soothing' IndependentPrepare to meet a young woman who thinks she knows everything.Fresh from university, Emma Woodhouse triumphantly arrives home in Norfolk ready to embark on adult life with a splash. Not only has her sister, Isabella, been whisked away on a motorcycle up to London, but her astute governess, Miss Taylor is at a loose end, abandoned in the giant family pile, Hartfield, alongside Emma's anxiety-ridden father. Someone is needed to rule the roost and young Emma is more than happy to oblige.As she gets her fledging design business off the ground, there is plenty to delight her in the buzzing little village of Highbury. At the helm of her own dinner parties and instructing her new little protegee, Harriet Smith, Emma reigns forth. But there is only one person who can play with Emma's indestructible confidence, her old friend and inscrutable neighbour George Knightley - this time has Emma finally met her match?You don't have to be in London to go to parties, find amusement or make trouble. Not if you're Emma, the very big fish in the rather small pond. But for a young woman who knows everything, Emma has a lot to learn about herself.Ever alive to the uproarious nuances of human behaviour, and both the pleasures and pitfalls of village life, beloved author Alexander McCall Smith's Emma is the busybody we all know and love, and a true modern delight.

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 joyful news.With the arrival of an heir to the Double Comfort furniture empire and Mma Makutsi busy with motherhood, Mma Ramotswe must tackle tea-making and detective work alone. Well-known troublemaker Violet Sephotho may or not be behind a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, and a dispute over the will of a local dignitary points to a shocking family secret. But the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is resilient and adaptable, and change brings salutary lessons: that our enemies are not always obvious, that a snake under the bed may be an ally, and that a mother's love conquers all.

Now that she is finally and happily married to her long-term suitor Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency of Botswana might have expected life to grow more sedate. But the many problems that lead customers to Mma Ramotswe's door seem, if anything, to have multiplied, and no sooner has she settled her traditionally built person into the married state than she finds herself looking into several troublesome matters at once. There is, to begin with, a disturbing case of blackmail and theft from the Government catering college. Then, while on an errand for her husband to the Mokolodi Game Reserve Mma Ramotswe is seconded to investigate an unpleasant atmosphere that may be down to witchcraft, or something worse. There are sinister goings-on at a health clinic to be looked into, not to mention any number of small wrongs to be righted along the path to detective triumph. And all the time Mma Ramotswe has weighty questions of a philosophical nature to consider, such as whether it is right to find happiness in small things, such as a new pair of blue shoes, a slice of cake, or a red sunset over the Kalahari.

THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY introduced the world to the one and only Precious Ramotswe - the engaging and sassy owner of Botswana's only detective agency. TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE, McCall Smith's second book, takes us further into this world as we follow Mama Ramotswe into more daring situations ... Among her cases this time are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids, and the challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her son who is long lost on the African plains. Indeed, Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to the most gentlemanly of men, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, the promotion of Mma's secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective, and the arrival of new members to the Matekoni family, all brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.* TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE was selected as one of the GUARDIAN's top ten 'Fiction Paperbacks of the Year, 2000

Come and discover The Enigma of Garlic and join the delightful denizens of Edinburgh's most famous address. This latest instalment of the much-loved 44 Scotland Street series is wise, witty, and full of warmth.

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 tooWhen facing a moral dilemma, Isabel Dalhousie-Edinburgh philosopher, amateur detective, and title character of a series of novels by best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith-often refers to the great twentieth-century poet W. H. Auden. This is no accident: McCall Smith has long been fascinated by Auden. Indeed, the novelist, best known for his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, calls the poet not only the greatest literary discovery of his life but also the best of guides on how to live. In this book, McCall Smith has written a charming personal account about what Auden has done for him-and what he just might do for you.Part self-portrait, part literary appreciation, the book tells how McCall Smith first came across the poet's work in the 1970s, while teaching law in Belfast, a violently divided city where Auden's "e;September 1, 1939,"e; a poem about the outbreak of World War II, strongly resonated. McCall Smith goes on to reveal how his life has related to and been inspired by other Auden poems ever since. For example, he describes how he has found an invaluable reflection on life's transience in "e;As I Walked Out One Evening,"e; while "e;The More Loving One"e; has provided an instructive meditation on unrequited love. McCall Smith shows how Auden can speak to us throughout life, suggesting how, despite difficulties and change, we can celebrate understanding, acceptance, and love for others.An enchanting story about how art can help us live, this book will appeal to McCall Smith's fans and anyone curious about Auden.

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.

A brand new stand-alone novel from Alexander McCall Smith, The Pavilion in the Clouds is a beautifully evocative story, set mostly in 1930s Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). This atmospheric novel, set in the pre- and post-war years in both Ceylon and Scotland poses the question of what it is to be home.

This is a special collection which includes all four of the Alexander McCall Smith''s Young Precious adventures so far:Precious and the MonkeysPrecious and the Missing LionPrecious and the Mystery of Meerkat HillPrecious and the Zebra Necklace

Little, Brown/Abacus has sold more than 12 million copies of Alexander McCall Smith's books. This is the twenty-second book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

A return to 44 Scotland Street . . .

The latest instalment of Alexander McCall Smith's hilarious von Igelfeld series

Little, Brown/Abacus has sold more than 12 million copies of Alexander McCall Smith's books. This is the twenty-first book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

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, his debut collection of poems.