The maid glanced at her employer. "Oh, you have heard of me," she said. "I am glad that he speaks of me. I would not like to think that nobody speaks of me." "No," said Mma Ramotswe. "It is better to be spoken of than not to be spoken of. Except sometimes, that is."
Tears of the Giraffe, chapter 1
The sentiment sounded trite, but then didn’t most good sentiments sound trite? It was hard to make goodness – and good people – sound interesting. Yet the good were worthy of note, of course, because they battled and that battle was a great story, whereas the evil were evil because of moral laziness, or weakness, and that was ultimately a dull and uninteresting affair.
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, chapter 3
When we love others, we naturally want to talk about them, we want to show them off, like emotional trophies. We invest them with a power to do to others what they do to us; a vain hope, as the lovers of others are rarely of much interest to us. But we listen in patience, as friends must, and as Isabel now did, refraining from comment, other than to encourage the release of the story and the attendant confession of human frailty and hope.
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, chapter 5
Each of us is born into our own mysteries…but the mystery of another might just take us in and embrace us. And then what a sense of homecoming, of belonging!
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, chapter 15
We think the world is ours forever, but we are little more than squatters.
The Careful Use of Compliments, chapter 1
And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often the opposite of what one really wanted to do.
The Careful Use of Compliments, chapter 2
’They are a very great boon to mankind, dentists,’ said Isabel. ‘And I’m not sure that we are grateful enough to them. I’m not sure that we even bother to thank them.’ She paused. Were there any statues of dentists? She thought not. And yet there should be.
The Careful Use of Compliments, chapter 8
Our minds can come up with the most entertaining possibilities, if we let them. But most of the time, we keep them under far too close a check.
The Careful Use of Compliments, chapter 15
Pat looked up at the cornice. "I’m on a gap year," she said, and added, because truth required it after all: "It’s my second gap year, actually." Bruce stared at her, and then burst out laughing. "Your second gap year?" Pat nodded. She felt miserable. Everybody said that. Everybody said that because they had no idea of what had happened. "My first one was a disaster," she said. "So I started again."
44 Scotland Street, chapter 1
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith,
CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
FRSEThe Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, (born 24 August 1948) is a
RhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on
medical lawMedical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law....
and
bioethicsBioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
and served on British and international committees concerned with these issues. He has since become internationally known as a writer of fiction. He is most widely known as the creator of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
Biography
Alexander McCall Smith was born in
BulawayoBulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
, in what was then
Southern RhodesiaSouthern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
and is now
ZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. His father worked as a public prosecutor in what was then a British colony. He was educated at the
Christian Brothers CollegeSt. Patrick's Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo is a private multiracial boys only high school located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It was founded in the 1950s and is the most prestigious school in Bulawayo,and probably one of the best schools in the country....
before moving to Scotland to study law at the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where he received his Ph.D. in law.
He soon taught at Queen's University Belfast, and while teaching there he entered a literary competition: one a children's book and the other a novel for adults. He won in the children's category, and published thirty books in the 1980s and 1990s.
He returned to
southern AfricaSouthern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
in 1981 to help co-found and teach law at the
University of BotswanaThe University of Botswana, or UB was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has four campuses: two in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education,...
. While there, he cowrote what remains the only book on the country's legal system, The Criminal Law of Botswana (1992).
He returned in 1984 to
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, where he lives today with his wife, Elizabeth, a physician, and their two daughters Lucy and Emily. He was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh at one time and is now Emeritus Professor at its
School of LawThe University of Edinburgh School of Law, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, dedicated to research and teaching in law. Known today as Edinburgh Law School, it is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University...
. He retains a further involvement with the University in relation to the
James Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
.
He is the former chairman of the
British Medical JournalBMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
Ethics Committee (until 2002), the former vice-chairman of the
Human Genetics CommissionThe Human Genetics Commission is a non-departmental public body body that advises the UK government on the ethical and social aspects of genetics...
of the United Kingdom, and a former member of the International Bioethics Commission of
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. After achieving success as a writer, he gave up these commitments.
He was appointed a
CBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in the December 2006 New Year's Honours List for services to literature. In June 2007, he was awarded the
Honorary DegreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of Doctor of Laws at a ceremony celebrating the tercentenary of the University of Edinburgh School of Law.
He is an amateur
bassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
ist, and co-founder of
The Really Terrible OrchestraThe Really Terrible Orchestra is a British amateur orchestra, founded in 1995 by the Edinburgh-based businessman Peter Stevenson and the author Alexander McCall Smith. The inspiration for Stevenson and Smith was the enjoyment that their children were having with their school orchestras...
. He has helped to found Botswana's first centre for opera training, the Number 1 Ladies' Opera House, for whom he wrote the
librettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of their first production, a version of
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
set among a troop of
baboonBaboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s in the
Okavango DeltaThe Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
. He is also the author of a testimonial in
The Future of the NHSThe Future of the NHS is a book published by xpl Publishing in 2006 . It is edited by Dr Michelle Tempest and brings together forty-four leading experts in the fields of health care, politics and policy making...
(2006). His use of the serial format, in his Edinburgh and Pimlico novels, has revived the 19th-century format used by authors including
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and
Armistead MaupinArmistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
.
In 2009, he donated the short story Still Life to Oxfam's '
Ox-TalesOx-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best known authors. All the authors donated their stories to Oxfam...
' project—four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. McCall Smith's story was published in the 'Air' collection.
Former American First Lady
Laura BushLaura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
is a big fan of Smith's, as is
FleaMichael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
of the
Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series
- 1999 The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- 2000 Tears of the Giraffe
Tears Of The Giraffe is the second in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot outline:...
- 2001 Morality for Beautiful Girls
Morality for Beautiful Girls is the third in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2002 The Kalahari Typing School for Men
The Kalahari Typing School for Men is the fourth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Personal life:...
- 2003 The Full Cupboard of Life
The Full Cupboard of Life is the fifth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2004 In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies is the sixth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot introduction:...
(also known as The Night-Time Dancer.)
- 2006 Blue Shoes and Happiness
Blue Shoes and Happiness is the seventh in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot introduction:...
- 2007 The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive is the eighth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2008 The Miracle at Speedy Motors
The Miracle at Speedy Motors is the ninth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2009 Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built is the tenth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2010 The Double Comfort Safari Club
The Double Comfort Safari Club is the eleventh in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.-Plot summary:...
- 2010 Precious and the Puggies (novella for younger readers, first published in a Scots
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
translation by James Robertson.) Reissued in English as Precious and the Monkeys 2011.
- 2011 The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party is a 2011 novel by Alexander McCall Smith and the twelfth installment in the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.-Plot:...
The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom
also known as Professor Dr Von Igelfeld Entertainment Novels
- 2003 Portuguese Irregular Verbs
Portuguese Irregular Verbs is a short comic novel by Alexander McCall Smith, and the first of McCall Smith's Professor Dr von Igelfeld novels. It was first published in 2003....
- 2003 The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs is a novel by Scottish author and academic Alexander McCall Smith. The book relates further matters in the life of the main character, Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, following on from the first book of the series, Portuguese Irregular Verbs.The Professor is...
- 2003 At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances is a book by Scottish author and academic Alexander McCall Smith, relating further matters in the life of the main character, Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld....
- 2011 Unusual Uses for Olive Oil (publishing December 2011)
The Sunday Philosophy Club Series
also known as Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries
- 2004 The Sunday Philosophy Club
- 2005 Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate is the second of the Sunday Philosophy Club series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie. It was first published in 2005, and is the sequel to The Sunday Philosophy Club.-Plot synopsis:Isabel...
- 2006 The Right Attitude to Rain
The Right Attitude to Rain is the third of the Sunday Philosophy Club series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie...
- 2007 The Careful Use of Compliments
The Careful Use of Compliments is the fourth book in The Sunday Philosophy Club Series by Alexander McCall Smith.-Plot:After her son's birth, Isabel feels that her life has hit a happy patch....
- 2008 The Comfort of Saturdays (UK title) or The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday (American title)
- 2009: The Lost Art of Gratitude
- 2010: The Charming Quirks of Others
- 2011: The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (publishing December 2011)
44 Scotland Street Series
- 2005 44 Scotland Street
44 Scotland Street is an episodic novel by Alexander McCall Smith, the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The story was first published as a serial in The Scotsman, starting 26 January 2004, every weekday, for six months. The book retains the 100+ short chapters of the original...
- 2005 Espresso Tales
Espresso Tales is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith, the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.The story was first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, like its predecessor, 44 Scotland Street...
- 2006 Love Over Scotland
- 2007 The World According to Bertie
- 2008 The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
- 2010 The Importance of Being Seven
- 2011 Bertie Plays The Blues
Corduroy Mansions
- 2009 Corduroy Mansions
Corduroy Mansions is the first online novel by Alexander McCall Smith, author of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In the first series, the author wrote a chapter a day, starting from 15 September 2008, and the series ran for 20 weeks, totalling 100 episodes...
- 2009 The Dog Who Came in from the Cold (published online daily in serial form at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/corduroymansionsbyalexandermcca/; also published as a hard cover book on 1 May 2010).
- 2011 A Conspiracy of Friends (published May 2011)
Short story collections
- 1991 Children of Wax: African Folk Tales
- 1995 Heavenly Date: And Other Flirtations
- 2004 The Girl Who Married a Lion: And Other Tales from Africa
Other short stories
- 2011 "The Strange Story of Bobby Box" included in the young adult anthology What You Wish For
Children's books
- 1980 The White Hippo
- 1984 The Perfect Hamburger
- 1988 Alix and the Tigers
- 1990 The Tin Dog
- 1991 Calculator Annie
- 1991 The Popcorn Pirates
- 1992 Akimbo and the Lions
- 1992 The Doughnut Ring
- 1993 Akimbo and the Crocodile Man
- 1994 Paddy and the Ratcatcher
- 1995 The Muscle Machine
- 1996 The Bubblegum Tree
- 1997 Bursting Balloons Mystery
- 1997 The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean
- 1999 Chocolate Money Mystery
- 2000 Teacher Trouble
- 2005 Akimbo and the Elephants
- 2006 Dream Angus
- 2006 Akimbo and the Snakes
- 2008 Akimbo and the Baboons
- 2012 The Great Cake Mystery
Academic texts
- 1978 Power and Manoeuvrability (with Tony Carty)
- 1983 Law and Medical Ethics (with J Kenyon Mason) (this text has gone through several editions: an eighth, by Mason and Graeme Laurie, was published in 2010. McCall Smith contributed to the first six editions.)
- 1987 Butterworths Medico-Legal Encyclopaedia (with J Kenyon Mason)
- 1990 Family Rights: Family Law and Medical Advances (with Elaine Sutherland)
- 1992 The Criminal Law of Botswana (with Kwame Frimpong)
- 1993 The Duty to Rescue (with Michael Menlowe, 1993)
- 1992 Scots Criminal Law (with David H Sheldon, second edition published 1997)
- 1997 Forensic Aspects of Sleep (with Colin Shapiro)
- 2000 Justice and the Prosecution of Old Crimes (with Daniel W Shuman)
- 2001 Errors, Medicine and the Law (with Alan Merry)
- 2003 A Draft Criminal Code for Scotland (with Eric Clive, Pamela Ferguson and Christopher Gane)
- 2004 Creating Humans: Ethical questions where reproduction and science collide (collected lectures, audio recordings)
External links