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In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

Part of No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

Author Alexander McCall Smith
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$15.95 US
Knopf | Anchor
On sale Mar 14, 2006 | 256 Pages | 978-1-4000-7570-6
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  • English > Comparative Literature > Detective and Crime Fiction
  • English > Comparative Literature: African > African Literature
  • Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > African Literature and Drama
  • About
  • Excerpt
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In this sixth novel in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe is busier than usual at the agency when an unidentified intruder in her house on Zebra Road, and the sudden appearance of a mysterious pumpkin, add to her concerns. Also, things aren't running quite as smoothly as they usually do next door at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors where her husband—Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni—is overburdened with work even before one of his apprentices runs off with a wealthy woman. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi has decided to take up dancing lessons. But what really threatens Precious's resolve is the vistor from her past who forces Mma Ramotswe to confront a secret of her own.

In the background of all this is Botswana, a country of empty spaces and echoing skies, a country so entrancingand heartbreakingly beautiful.

“It is impossible to come away from an Alexander McCall Smith ‘mystery’ novel without a smile on the lips.” —Chicago Sun-Times

"A literary confection of . . . gossamer deliciousness. . . . There is no end to the pleasure that may be extracted from [this book]."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Enchanting. . . . In the Company of Cheerful Ladies may be the most compelling of the lot." —Daily News

"Put on the teakettle, find your place in the sun and settle in for a genteel journey. . . . McCall Smith has brewed up a gem of a story as rich as . . . red bush tea."
—Rocky Mountain News

"Beguiling, lyrical. . . . Cheerful Ladies is blessed with . . . McCall Smith's richly detailed portraits of life in Africa and his flair for storytelling with an engaging cast of fully realized characters." —Los Angeles Times
Chapter One
Honesty, Tea, and Things in the Kitchen

Mma Ramotswe was sitting alone in her favourite café, on the edge of the shopping centre at the Gaborone end of the Tlokweng Road. It was a Saturday, the day that she preferred above all others, a day on which one might do as much or as little as one liked, a day to have lunch with a friend at the President Hotel, or, as on that day, to sit by oneself and think about the events of the week and the state of the world. This café was a good place to be, for several reasons. Firstly, there was the view, that of a stand of eucalyptus trees with foliage of a comforting dark green which made a sound like the sea when the wind blew through the leaves. Or that, at least, was the sound which Mma Ramotswe imagined the sea to make. She had never seen the ocean, which was far away from land-locked Botswana; far away across the deserts of Namibia, across the red sands and the dry mountains. But she could imagine it when she listened to the eucalyptus trees in the wind and closed her eyes. Perhaps one day she would see it, and would stand on the shore and let the waves wash over her feet. Perhaps.

The other advantage which this café had was the fact that the tables were out on an open verandah, and there was always something to watch. That morning, for instance, she had seen a minor dispute between a teenage girl and her boyfriend-an exchange of words which she did not catch but which was clear enough in its meaning-and she had witnessed a woman scrape the side of a neighbouring car while she tried to park. The woman had stopped, quickly inspected the damage, and had then driven off. Mma Ramotswe had watched this incredulously, and had half-risen to her feet to protest, but was too late: the woman's car had by then turned the corner and disappeared and she did not even have time to see its number-plate.

She had sat down again and poured herself another cup of tea. It was not true that such a thing could not have happened in the old Botswana-it could-but it was undoubtedly true that this was much more likely to happen today. There were many selfish people about these days, people who seemed not to care if they scraped the cars of others or bumped into people while walking on the street. Mma Ramotswe knew that this was what happened when towns became bigger and people became strangers to one another; she knew too that this was a consequence of increasing prosperity, which, curiously enough, just seemed to bring out greed and selfishness. But even if she knew why all this happened, it did not make it any easier to bear. The rest of the world might become as rude as it wished, but this was not the way of things in Botswana and she would always defend the old Botswana way of doing things.

Life was far better, thought Mma Ramotswe, if we knew who we were. In the days when she was a schoolgirl in Mochudi, the village in which she had been born, everybody had known exactly who you were, and they often knew exactly who your parents, and your parents' parents, had been. Today when she went back to Mochudi, people would greet her as if she had barely been away; her presence needed no explanation. And even here in Gaborone, where things had grown so much, people still knew precisely who she was. They would know that she was Precious Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, daughter of the late Obed Ramotswe, and now the wife (after a rather protracted engagement) of that most gracious of mechanics, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And some of them at least would also know that she lived in Zebra Drive, that she had a tiny white van, and that she employed one Grace Makutsi as her assistant. And so the ramifications of relationships and ties would spread further outwards, and the number of things that might be known would grow. Some might know that Mma Makutsi had a brother, Richard, who was now late; that she had achieved the previously unheard-of result of ninety-seven per cent in the final examinations of the Botswana Secretarial College; and that following upon the success of the Kalahari Typing School for Men, she had recently moved to a rather better house in Extension Two. Knowledge of this sort-everyday, human knowledge-helped to keep society together and made it difficult to scrape the car of another without feeling guilty about it and without doing something to let the owner know. Not that this appeared to make any difference to that selfish woman in the car, who had left the scrape unreported, who clearly did not care.

But there was no point in throwing up one's hands in despair. People had always done that-the throwing up of hands, the shrug-but one got nowhere in doing so. The world might have changed for the worse in some respects, but in others it was a much better place, and it was important to remember this. Lights went off in some places, but went on in others. Look at Africa-there had been so much to shake one's head over-corruption, civil wars, and the rest-but there was also so much which was now much better. There had been slavery in the past, and all the suffering which that had brought, and there had been all the cruelties of apartheid just those few miles away over the border, but all that was now over. There had been ignorance, but now more and more people were learning to write, and were graduating from universities. Women had been held in such servitude, and now they could vote and express themselves and claim lives for themselves, even if there were still many men who did not want such things to be. These were the good things that happened and one had to remember them.

Mma Ramotswe raised her tea cup to her lips and looked out over the brim. At the edge of the car park, immediately in front of the café, a small market had been set up, with traders' stalls and trays of colourful goods. She watched as a man attempted to persuade a customer to buy a pair of sunglasses. The woman tried on several pairs, but was not satisfied, and moved on to the next stall. There she pointed to a small piece of silver jewellery, a bangle, and the trader, a short man wearing a wide-brimmed felt hat, passed it across to her to try on. Mma Ramotswe watched as the woman held out her wrist to be admired by the trader, who nodded encouragement. But the woman seemed not to agree with his verdict, and handed the bangle back, pointing to another item at the back of the stall. And at that moment, while the trader turned round to stretch for whatever it was that she had singled out, the woman quickly slipped another bangle into the pocket of the jacket she was wearing.

Mma Ramotswe gasped. This time, she could not sit back and allow a crime to be committed before her very eyes. If people did nothing, then no wonder that things were getting worse. So she stood up, and began to walk firmly towards the stall where the woman had now engaged the trader in earnest discussion about the merits of the merchandise which he was showing her.

"Excuse me, Mma."

The voice came from behind her, and Mma Ramotswe turned round to see who had addressed her. It was the waitress, a young woman whom Mma Ramotswe had not seen at the café before.

"Yes, Mma, what is it?"

The waitress pointed an accusing finger at her. "You cannot run away like that," she said. "I saw you. You're trying to go away without paying the bill. I saw you."

For a moment Mma Ramotswe was unable to speak. The accusation was a terrible one, and so unwarranted. Of course she had not been trying to get away without paying the bill-she would never do such a thing; all she was doing was trying to stop a crime being committed before her eyes.

She recovered herself sufficiently to reply. "I am not trying to go away, Mma," she said. "I am just trying to stop that person over there from stealing from that man. Then I would have come back to pay."

The waitress smiled knowingly. "They all find some excuse," she said. "Every day there are people like you. They come and eat our food and then they run away and hide. You people are all the same."

Mma Ramotswe looked over towards the stall. The woman had begun to walk away, presumably with the bangle still firmly in her pocket. It would now be too late to do anything about it, and all because of this silly young woman who had misunderstood what she was doing.

She went back to her table and sat down. "Bring me the bill," she said. "I will pay it straightaway."

The waitress stared at her. "I will bring you the bill," she said. "But I shall have to add something for myself. I will have to add this if you do not want me to call the police and tell them about how you tried to run away."

As the waitress went off to fetch the bill, Mma Ramotswe glanced around her to see if people at the neighbouring tables had witnessed the scene. At the table next to hers, a woman sat with her two young children, who were sipping with evident pleasure at large milkshakes. The woman smiled at Mma Ramotswe, and then turned her attention back to the children. She had not seen anything, thought Mma Ramotswe, but then the woman leaned across the table and addressed a remark to her.

"Bad luck, Mma," she said. "They are too quick in this place. It is easier to run away at the hotels."



For a few minutes Mma Ramotswe sat in complete silence, reflecting on what she had seen. It was remarkable. Within a very short space of time she had seen an instance of bare-faced theft, had encountered a waitress who thought nothing of extorting money, and then, to bring the whole matter to a shameful conclusion, the woman at the next table had disclosed a thoroughly dishonest view of the world. Mma Ramotswe was frankly astonished. She thought of what her father, the late Obed Ramotswe, a fine judge of cattle but also a man of the utmost propriety, would have thought of this. He had brought her up to be scrupulously honest, and he would have been mortified to see this sort of behaviour. Mma Ramotswe remembered how she had been walking with him in Mochudi when she was a young girl and they had come across a coin on the edge of the road. She had fallen upon it with delight and was polishing it with her handkerchief before he noticed what had happened and had intervened.

"That is not ours," he said. "That money belongs to somebody else."

She had yielded the coin reluctantly, and it had been handed in to a surprised police sergeant at the Mochudi Police Post, but the lesson had been a vivid one. It was difficult for Mma Ramotswe to imagine how anybody could steal from another, or do any of the things which one read about in the Botswana Daily News court reports. The only explanation was that people who did that sort of thing had no understanding of what others felt; they simply did not understand. If you knew what it was like to be another person, then how could you possibly do something which would cause pain?

The problem, though, was that there seemed to be people in whom that imaginative part was just missing. It could be that they were born that way-with something missing from their brains-or it could be that they became like that because they were never taught by their parents to sympathise with others. That was the most likely explanation, thought Mma Ramotswe. A whole generation of people, not only in Africa, but everywhere else, had not been taught to feel for others because the parents simply had not bothered to teach them this.

She continued to think of this as she drove in her tiny white van, back through that part of town known as the Village, back past the University, with its growing sprawl of buildings, and finally along Zebra Drive itself, where she lived. She had been so disturbed by what she had seen that she had quite forgotten to do the shopping that she had intended to do, with the result that it was only when she pulled into her driveway and came to a halt beside the kitchen wall that she remembered that she had none of the items she needed to make that night's dinner. There were no beans, for example, which meant that their stew would be accompanied by no greens; and there would be no custard for the pudding which she had planned to make for the children. She sat at the wheel of the van and contemplated retracing her tracks to the shops, but she just did not have the energy. It was a hot day, and the house looked cool and inviting. She could go inside, make herself a pot of bush tea, and retire to her bedroom for a sleep. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni and the children had gone out to Mojadite, a small village off the Lobatse Road, to visit his aunt, and would not be back before six or seven. She would have the house to herself for several hours yet, and this would be a good time for a rest. There was plenty of food in the house-even if it was the wrong sort for the dinner that she had planned. They could have pumpkin with the stew, rather than beans, and the children would be perfectly happy with a tin of peaches in syrup rather than the custard and semolina pudding that she had thought of making. So there was no reason to go out again.

Mma Ramotswe stepped out of the tiny white van and walked round to the kitchen door, unlocking it to let herself in. She could remember the days when nobody locked their doors in Botswana, and indeed when there were many doors that had no locks to lock anyway. But they had to lock their doors now and there were even people who locked their gates too. She thought of what she had seen only a short time before. That woman who had stolen from the trader with the wide-brimmed felt hat; she lived in a room somewhere which she no doubt kept locked, and yet she was prepared to steal from that poor man. Mma Ramotswe sighed. There was much in this world over which one might shake one's head. Indeed, it would be possible to go through life today with one's head in constant motion, like a puppet in the hands of a shaky puppeteer.
Copyright © 2005 by Alexander McCall Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
© Michael Lionstar

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH is the author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels and a number of other series and stand-alone books. His works have been translated into more than forty languages and have been best sellers throughout the world. He lives in Scotland.

View titles by Alexander McCall Smith

About

In this sixth novel in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe is busier than usual at the agency when an unidentified intruder in her house on Zebra Road, and the sudden appearance of a mysterious pumpkin, add to her concerns. Also, things aren't running quite as smoothly as they usually do next door at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors where her husband—Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni—is overburdened with work even before one of his apprentices runs off with a wealthy woman. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi has decided to take up dancing lessons. But what really threatens Precious's resolve is the vistor from her past who forces Mma Ramotswe to confront a secret of her own.

In the background of all this is Botswana, a country of empty spaces and echoing skies, a country so entrancingand heartbreakingly beautiful.

“It is impossible to come away from an Alexander McCall Smith ‘mystery’ novel without a smile on the lips.” —Chicago Sun-Times

"A literary confection of . . . gossamer deliciousness. . . . There is no end to the pleasure that may be extracted from [this book]."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Enchanting. . . . In the Company of Cheerful Ladies may be the most compelling of the lot." —Daily News

"Put on the teakettle, find your place in the sun and settle in for a genteel journey. . . . McCall Smith has brewed up a gem of a story as rich as . . . red bush tea."
—Rocky Mountain News

"Beguiling, lyrical. . . . Cheerful Ladies is blessed with . . . McCall Smith's richly detailed portraits of life in Africa and his flair for storytelling with an engaging cast of fully realized characters." —Los Angeles Times

Excerpt

Chapter One
Honesty, Tea, and Things in the Kitchen

Mma Ramotswe was sitting alone in her favourite café, on the edge of the shopping centre at the Gaborone end of the Tlokweng Road. It was a Saturday, the day that she preferred above all others, a day on which one might do as much or as little as one liked, a day to have lunch with a friend at the President Hotel, or, as on that day, to sit by oneself and think about the events of the week and the state of the world. This café was a good place to be, for several reasons. Firstly, there was the view, that of a stand of eucalyptus trees with foliage of a comforting dark green which made a sound like the sea when the wind blew through the leaves. Or that, at least, was the sound which Mma Ramotswe imagined the sea to make. She had never seen the ocean, which was far away from land-locked Botswana; far away across the deserts of Namibia, across the red sands and the dry mountains. But she could imagine it when she listened to the eucalyptus trees in the wind and closed her eyes. Perhaps one day she would see it, and would stand on the shore and let the waves wash over her feet. Perhaps.

The other advantage which this café had was the fact that the tables were out on an open verandah, and there was always something to watch. That morning, for instance, she had seen a minor dispute between a teenage girl and her boyfriend-an exchange of words which she did not catch but which was clear enough in its meaning-and she had witnessed a woman scrape the side of a neighbouring car while she tried to park. The woman had stopped, quickly inspected the damage, and had then driven off. Mma Ramotswe had watched this incredulously, and had half-risen to her feet to protest, but was too late: the woman's car had by then turned the corner and disappeared and she did not even have time to see its number-plate.

She had sat down again and poured herself another cup of tea. It was not true that such a thing could not have happened in the old Botswana-it could-but it was undoubtedly true that this was much more likely to happen today. There were many selfish people about these days, people who seemed not to care if they scraped the cars of others or bumped into people while walking on the street. Mma Ramotswe knew that this was what happened when towns became bigger and people became strangers to one another; she knew too that this was a consequence of increasing prosperity, which, curiously enough, just seemed to bring out greed and selfishness. But even if she knew why all this happened, it did not make it any easier to bear. The rest of the world might become as rude as it wished, but this was not the way of things in Botswana and she would always defend the old Botswana way of doing things.

Life was far better, thought Mma Ramotswe, if we knew who we were. In the days when she was a schoolgirl in Mochudi, the village in which she had been born, everybody had known exactly who you were, and they often knew exactly who your parents, and your parents' parents, had been. Today when she went back to Mochudi, people would greet her as if she had barely been away; her presence needed no explanation. And even here in Gaborone, where things had grown so much, people still knew precisely who she was. They would know that she was Precious Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, daughter of the late Obed Ramotswe, and now the wife (after a rather protracted engagement) of that most gracious of mechanics, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And some of them at least would also know that she lived in Zebra Drive, that she had a tiny white van, and that she employed one Grace Makutsi as her assistant. And so the ramifications of relationships and ties would spread further outwards, and the number of things that might be known would grow. Some might know that Mma Makutsi had a brother, Richard, who was now late; that she had achieved the previously unheard-of result of ninety-seven per cent in the final examinations of the Botswana Secretarial College; and that following upon the success of the Kalahari Typing School for Men, she had recently moved to a rather better house in Extension Two. Knowledge of this sort-everyday, human knowledge-helped to keep society together and made it difficult to scrape the car of another without feeling guilty about it and without doing something to let the owner know. Not that this appeared to make any difference to that selfish woman in the car, who had left the scrape unreported, who clearly did not care.

But there was no point in throwing up one's hands in despair. People had always done that-the throwing up of hands, the shrug-but one got nowhere in doing so. The world might have changed for the worse in some respects, but in others it was a much better place, and it was important to remember this. Lights went off in some places, but went on in others. Look at Africa-there had been so much to shake one's head over-corruption, civil wars, and the rest-but there was also so much which was now much better. There had been slavery in the past, and all the suffering which that had brought, and there had been all the cruelties of apartheid just those few miles away over the border, but all that was now over. There had been ignorance, but now more and more people were learning to write, and were graduating from universities. Women had been held in such servitude, and now they could vote and express themselves and claim lives for themselves, even if there were still many men who did not want such things to be. These were the good things that happened and one had to remember them.

Mma Ramotswe raised her tea cup to her lips and looked out over the brim. At the edge of the car park, immediately in front of the café, a small market had been set up, with traders' stalls and trays of colourful goods. She watched as a man attempted to persuade a customer to buy a pair of sunglasses. The woman tried on several pairs, but was not satisfied, and moved on to the next stall. There she pointed to a small piece of silver jewellery, a bangle, and the trader, a short man wearing a wide-brimmed felt hat, passed it across to her to try on. Mma Ramotswe watched as the woman held out her wrist to be admired by the trader, who nodded encouragement. But the woman seemed not to agree with his verdict, and handed the bangle back, pointing to another item at the back of the stall. And at that moment, while the trader turned round to stretch for whatever it was that she had singled out, the woman quickly slipped another bangle into the pocket of the jacket she was wearing.

Mma Ramotswe gasped. This time, she could not sit back and allow a crime to be committed before her very eyes. If people did nothing, then no wonder that things were getting worse. So she stood up, and began to walk firmly towards the stall where the woman had now engaged the trader in earnest discussion about the merits of the merchandise which he was showing her.

"Excuse me, Mma."

The voice came from behind her, and Mma Ramotswe turned round to see who had addressed her. It was the waitress, a young woman whom Mma Ramotswe had not seen at the café before.

"Yes, Mma, what is it?"

The waitress pointed an accusing finger at her. "You cannot run away like that," she said. "I saw you. You're trying to go away without paying the bill. I saw you."

For a moment Mma Ramotswe was unable to speak. The accusation was a terrible one, and so unwarranted. Of course she had not been trying to get away without paying the bill-she would never do such a thing; all she was doing was trying to stop a crime being committed before her eyes.

She recovered herself sufficiently to reply. "I am not trying to go away, Mma," she said. "I am just trying to stop that person over there from stealing from that man. Then I would have come back to pay."

The waitress smiled knowingly. "They all find some excuse," she said. "Every day there are people like you. They come and eat our food and then they run away and hide. You people are all the same."

Mma Ramotswe looked over towards the stall. The woman had begun to walk away, presumably with the bangle still firmly in her pocket. It would now be too late to do anything about it, and all because of this silly young woman who had misunderstood what she was doing.

She went back to her table and sat down. "Bring me the bill," she said. "I will pay it straightaway."

The waitress stared at her. "I will bring you the bill," she said. "But I shall have to add something for myself. I will have to add this if you do not want me to call the police and tell them about how you tried to run away."

As the waitress went off to fetch the bill, Mma Ramotswe glanced around her to see if people at the neighbouring tables had witnessed the scene. At the table next to hers, a woman sat with her two young children, who were sipping with evident pleasure at large milkshakes. The woman smiled at Mma Ramotswe, and then turned her attention back to the children. She had not seen anything, thought Mma Ramotswe, but then the woman leaned across the table and addressed a remark to her.

"Bad luck, Mma," she said. "They are too quick in this place. It is easier to run away at the hotels."



For a few minutes Mma Ramotswe sat in complete silence, reflecting on what she had seen. It was remarkable. Within a very short space of time she had seen an instance of bare-faced theft, had encountered a waitress who thought nothing of extorting money, and then, to bring the whole matter to a shameful conclusion, the woman at the next table had disclosed a thoroughly dishonest view of the world. Mma Ramotswe was frankly astonished. She thought of what her father, the late Obed Ramotswe, a fine judge of cattle but also a man of the utmost propriety, would have thought of this. He had brought her up to be scrupulously honest, and he would have been mortified to see this sort of behaviour. Mma Ramotswe remembered how she had been walking with him in Mochudi when she was a young girl and they had come across a coin on the edge of the road. She had fallen upon it with delight and was polishing it with her handkerchief before he noticed what had happened and had intervened.

"That is not ours," he said. "That money belongs to somebody else."

She had yielded the coin reluctantly, and it had been handed in to a surprised police sergeant at the Mochudi Police Post, but the lesson had been a vivid one. It was difficult for Mma Ramotswe to imagine how anybody could steal from another, or do any of the things which one read about in the Botswana Daily News court reports. The only explanation was that people who did that sort of thing had no understanding of what others felt; they simply did not understand. If you knew what it was like to be another person, then how could you possibly do something which would cause pain?

The problem, though, was that there seemed to be people in whom that imaginative part was just missing. It could be that they were born that way-with something missing from their brains-or it could be that they became like that because they were never taught by their parents to sympathise with others. That was the most likely explanation, thought Mma Ramotswe. A whole generation of people, not only in Africa, but everywhere else, had not been taught to feel for others because the parents simply had not bothered to teach them this.

She continued to think of this as she drove in her tiny white van, back through that part of town known as the Village, back past the University, with its growing sprawl of buildings, and finally along Zebra Drive itself, where she lived. She had been so disturbed by what she had seen that she had quite forgotten to do the shopping that she had intended to do, with the result that it was only when she pulled into her driveway and came to a halt beside the kitchen wall that she remembered that she had none of the items she needed to make that night's dinner. There were no beans, for example, which meant that their stew would be accompanied by no greens; and there would be no custard for the pudding which she had planned to make for the children. She sat at the wheel of the van and contemplated retracing her tracks to the shops, but she just did not have the energy. It was a hot day, and the house looked cool and inviting. She could go inside, make herself a pot of bush tea, and retire to her bedroom for a sleep. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni and the children had gone out to Mojadite, a small village off the Lobatse Road, to visit his aunt, and would not be back before six or seven. She would have the house to herself for several hours yet, and this would be a good time for a rest. There was plenty of food in the house-even if it was the wrong sort for the dinner that she had planned. They could have pumpkin with the stew, rather than beans, and the children would be perfectly happy with a tin of peaches in syrup rather than the custard and semolina pudding that she had thought of making. So there was no reason to go out again.

Mma Ramotswe stepped out of the tiny white van and walked round to the kitchen door, unlocking it to let herself in. She could remember the days when nobody locked their doors in Botswana, and indeed when there were many doors that had no locks to lock anyway. But they had to lock their doors now and there were even people who locked their gates too. She thought of what she had seen only a short time before. That woman who had stolen from the trader with the wide-brimmed felt hat; she lived in a room somewhere which she no doubt kept locked, and yet she was prepared to steal from that poor man. Mma Ramotswe sighed. There was much in this world over which one might shake one's head. Indeed, it would be possible to go through life today with one's head in constant motion, like a puppet in the hands of a shaky puppeteer.
Copyright © 2005 by Alexander McCall Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Author

© Michael Lionstar

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH is the author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels and a number of other series and stand-alone books. His works have been translated into more than forty languages and have been best sellers throughout the world. He lives in Scotland.

View titles by Alexander McCall Smith

Additional formats

  • In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-375-42357-4
    $9.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Apr 19, 2005
  • In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-375-42357-4
    $9.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Apr 19, 2005

Other books in this series

  • A Song of Comfortable Chairs
    A Song of Comfortable Chairs
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (23)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31697-9
    $27.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Sep 06, 2022
  • The Joy and Light Bus Company
    The Joy and Light Bus Company
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (22)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31094-6
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 02, 2022
  • How to Raise an Elephant
    How to Raise an Elephant
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (21)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31095-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 07, 2021
  • To the Land of Long Lost Friends
    To the Land of Long Lost Friends
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (20)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56427-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 01, 2020
  • The Colors of All the Cattle
    The Colors of All the Cattle
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (19)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56426-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 07, 2019
  • The House of Unexpected Sisters
    The House of Unexpected Sisters
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (18)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97282-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 29, 2018
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Box Set (Books 2-4)
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Box Set (Books 2-4)
    Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56502-4
    $19.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    May 01, 2018
  • Precious and Grace
    Precious and Grace
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (17)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97281-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 30, 2017
  • The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine
    The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (16)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6991-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 14, 2016
  • The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
    The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6990-5
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 23, 2015
  • The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
    The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47300-4
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 03, 2014
  • The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
    The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47299-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 05, 2013
  • The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
    The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47298-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 06, 2012
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-7393-7829-8
    $20.00 US
    Large Print
    Random House Large Print
    Oct 18, 2011
  • The Double Comfort Safari Club
    The Double Comfort Safari Club
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27748-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 08, 2011
  • Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
    Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27747-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 09, 2010
  • The Miracle at Speedy Motors
    The Miracle at Speedy Motors
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27746-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 10, 2009
  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
    The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7572-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 11, 2008
  • Blue Shoes and Happiness
    Blue Shoes and Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7571-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 13, 2007
  • The Full Cupboard of Life
    The Full Cupboard of Life
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3181-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 25, 2005
  • The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3180-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 09, 2004
  • Morality for Beautiful Girls
    Morality for Beautiful Girls
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3136-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 12, 2002
  • Tears of the Giraffe
    Tears of the Giraffe
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3135-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 03, 2002
  • A Song of Comfortable Chairs
    A Song of Comfortable Chairs
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (23)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31697-9
    $27.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Sep 06, 2022
  • The Joy and Light Bus Company
    The Joy and Light Bus Company
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (22)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31094-6
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 02, 2022
  • How to Raise an Elephant
    How to Raise an Elephant
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (21)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31095-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 07, 2021
  • To the Land of Long Lost Friends
    To the Land of Long Lost Friends
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (20)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56427-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 01, 2020
  • The Colors of All the Cattle
    The Colors of All the Cattle
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (19)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56426-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 07, 2019
  • The House of Unexpected Sisters
    The House of Unexpected Sisters
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (18)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97282-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 29, 2018
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Box Set (Books 2-4)
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Box Set (Books 2-4)
    Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56502-4
    $19.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    May 01, 2018
  • Precious and Grace
    Precious and Grace
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (17)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97281-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 30, 2017
  • The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine
    The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (16)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6991-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 14, 2016
  • The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
    The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6990-5
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 23, 2015
  • The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
    The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47300-4
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 03, 2014
  • The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
    The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47299-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 05, 2013
  • The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
    The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47298-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 06, 2012
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-7393-7829-8
    $20.00 US
    Large Print
    Random House Large Print
    Oct 18, 2011
  • The Double Comfort Safari Club
    The Double Comfort Safari Club
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27748-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 08, 2011
  • Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
    Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27747-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 09, 2010
  • The Miracle at Speedy Motors
    The Miracle at Speedy Motors
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27746-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 10, 2009
  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
    The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7572-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 11, 2008
  • Blue Shoes and Happiness
    Blue Shoes and Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7571-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 13, 2007
  • The Full Cupboard of Life
    The Full Cupboard of Life
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3181-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 25, 2005
  • The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    The Kalahari Typing School for Men
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3180-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 09, 2004
  • Morality for Beautiful Girls
    Morality for Beautiful Girls
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3136-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 12, 2002
  • Tears of the Giraffe
    Tears of the Giraffe
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-3135-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 03, 2002

Other Books by this Author

  • No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31699-3
    $28.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Oct 17, 2023
  • The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf
    The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf
    A Detective Varg Novel (4)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-70083-9
    $28.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Jul 25, 2023
  • The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
    The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
    Stories
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-70069-3
    $29.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    May 09, 2023
  • The Enigma of Garlic
    The Enigma of Garlic
    44 Scotland Street Series (16)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68519-8
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 11, 2023
  • Cook for Me
    Cook for Me
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68605-8
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Feb 14, 2023
  • Sphinx
    Sphinx
    from Pianos and Flowers
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68547-1
    $0.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Oct 11, 2022
  • The Sweet Remnants of Summer
    The Sweet Remnants of Summer
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (14)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-60809-8
    $29.00 US
    Large Print
    Random House Large Print
    Jul 19, 2022
  • The Man with the Silver Saab
    The Man with the Silver Saab
    A Detective Varg Novel (3)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31363-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 07, 2022
  • In a Time of Distance
    In a Time of Distance
    and Other Poems
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-593-31598-9
    $22.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Apr 12, 2022
  • Tiny Tales
    Tiny Tales
    Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-593-31297-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 01, 2022
  • Love in the Time of Bertie
    Love in the Time of Bertie
    44 Scotland Street Series (15)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-46844-9
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 22, 2022
  • The Pavilion in the Clouds
    The Pavilion in the Clouds
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-46909-5
    $8.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Jan 25, 2022
  • Pianos and Flowers
    Pianos and Flowers
    Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31096-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 07, 2021
  • The Geometry of Holding Hands
    The Geometry of Holding Hands
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (13)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-08123-5
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 15, 2021
  • Your Inner Hedgehog
    Your Inner Hedgehog
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31267-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 06, 2021
  • The Talented Mr. Varg
    The Talented Mr. Varg
    A Detective Varg Novel (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-08122-8
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 02, 2021
  • A Promise of Ankles
    A Promise of Ankles
    44 Scotland Street (14)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31328-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 08, 2020
  • The Second-Worst Restaurant in France
    The Second-Worst Restaurant in France
    A Paul Stuart Novel (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56642-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 02, 2020
  • The Department of Sensitive Crimes
    The Department of Sensitive Crimes
    A Detective Varg Novel (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56567-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 04, 2020
  • The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
    The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
    44 Scotland Street Series (13)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-9848-9781-7
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 03, 2019
  • The Quiet Side of Passion
    The Quiet Side of Passion
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (12)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6993-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 04, 2019
  • The Race to Kangaroo Cliff
    The Race to Kangaroo Cliff
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55405-6
    $15.99 US
    Hardcover
    Delacorte Press
    Apr 09, 2019
  • The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
    The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-9848-9852-4
    $2.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Feb 26, 2019
  • The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
    The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56303-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 05, 2019
  • A Distant View of Everything
    A Distant View of Everything
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (11)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6992-9
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 21, 2018
  • Freddie Mole: Lion Tamer
    Freddie Mole: Lion Tamer
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-5247-1379-9
    $10.99 US
    Ebook
    Delacorte Press
    Jul 10, 2018
  • My Italian Bulldozer
    My Italian Bulldozer
    A Paul Stuart Novel (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97283-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 06, 2018
  • A Time of Love and Tartan
    A Time of Love and Tartan
    44 Scotland Street Series (12)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43655-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 06, 2018
  • Chance Developments
    Chance Developments
    Stories
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97187-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 28, 2017
  • The Sands of Shark Island
    The Sands of Shark Island
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55403-2
    $7.99 US
    Ebook
    Delacorte Press
    Jul 11, 2017
  • The Bertie Project
    The Bertie Project
    44 Scotland Street Series (11)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43300-2
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 07, 2017
  • School Ship Tobermory
    School Ship Tobermory
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55261-8
    $15.99 US
    Hardcover
    Delacorte Press
    Oct 11, 2016
  • The Novel Habits of Happiness
    The Novel Habits of Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94924-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 23, 2016
  • Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine
    Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine
    An Isabel Dalhousie Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43191-6
    $0.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    May 31, 2016
  • Emma: A Modern Retelling
    Emma: A Modern Retelling
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7241-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 05, 2016
  • The Revolving Door of Life
    The Revolving Door of Life
    44 Scotland Street Series (10)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97191-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 09, 2016
  • At the Reunion Buffet
    At the Reunion Buffet
    An Isabel Dalhousie Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97046-1
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    May 26, 2015
  • Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
    Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
    44 Scotland Street Series (9)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7000-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 17, 2015
  • The Forever Girl
    The Forever Girl
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80442-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 30, 2014
  • The Mystery of the Missing Lion
    The Mystery of the Missing Lion
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7327-8
    $7.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 21, 2014
  • Sunshine on Scotland Street
    Sunshine on Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street Series (8)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80440-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 12, 2014
  • Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party
    Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-87301-4
    $3.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Aug 05, 2014
  • Trains and Lovers
    Trains and Lovers
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80581-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 31, 2013
  • Mystery of Meerkat Hill
    Mystery of Meerkat Hill
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-345-80446-4
    $7.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 22, 2013
  • Bertie Plays the Blues
    Bertie Plays the Blues
    44 Scotland Street Series (7)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94849-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 08, 2013
  • The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
    The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94923-3
    $14.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 02, 2013
  • A Conspiracy of Friends
    A Conspiracy of Friends
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94800-7
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 30, 2013
  • Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
    Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27989-7
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 01, 2013
  • The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
    The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73940-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 02, 2012
  • The Importance of Being Seven
    The Importance of Being Seven
    44 Scotland Street Series (6)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73936-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 21, 2012
  • The Dog Who Came in from the Cold
    The Dog Who Came in from the Cold
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73944-5
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 29, 2012
  • The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case
    The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-74389-3
    $6.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 03, 2012
  • The Charming Quirks of Others
    The Charming Quirks of Others
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73939-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 01, 2011
  • The Perils of Morning Coffee
    The Perils of Morning Coffee
    An Isabel Dalhousie eBook Original Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-90751-6
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Pantheon
    Oct 25, 2011
  • Corduroy Mansions
    Corduroy Mansions
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47650-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 31, 2011
  • La's Orchestra Saves the World
    La's Orchestra Saves the World
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47304-2
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 07, 2010
  • The Lost Art of Gratitude
    The Lost Art of Gratitude
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38708-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 21, 2010
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
    The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
    44 Scotland Street Series (5)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-45470-6
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 12, 2010
  • The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
    The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38707-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 28, 2009
  • The World According to Bertie
    The World According to Bertie
    44 Scotland Street Series (4)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38706-6
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 11, 2008
  • The Careful Use of Compliments
    The Careful Use of Compliments
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7712-0
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 26, 2008
  • Love Over Scotland
    Love Over Scotland
    44 Scotland Street Series (3)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27598-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 06, 2007
  • The Right Attitude to Rain
    The Right Attitude to Rain
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7711-3
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 10, 2007
  • Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
    Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7710-6
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 29, 2006
  • Espresso Tales
    Espresso Tales
    44 Scotland Street Series (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27597-4
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 11, 2006
  • The Sunday Philosophy Club
    The Sunday Philosophy Club
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7709-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 12, 2005
  • 44 Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street Series (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7944-5
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 14, 2005
  • Portuguese Irregular Verbs
    Portuguese Irregular Verbs
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7708-3
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
    The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-9508-7
    $14.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
    At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-9509-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • The Girl Who Married a Lion
    The Girl Who Married a Lion
    and Other Tales from Africa
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-375-42344-4
    $12.99 US
    Ebook
    Pantheon
    Dec 07, 2004
  • No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31699-3
    $28.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Oct 17, 2023
  • The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf
    The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf
    A Detective Varg Novel (4)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-70083-9
    $28.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Jul 25, 2023
  • The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
    The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
    Stories
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-70069-3
    $29.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    May 09, 2023
  • The Enigma of Garlic
    The Enigma of Garlic
    44 Scotland Street Series (16)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68519-8
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 11, 2023
  • Cook for Me
    Cook for Me
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68605-8
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Feb 14, 2023
  • Sphinx
    Sphinx
    from Pianos and Flowers
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-68547-1
    $0.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Oct 11, 2022
  • The Sweet Remnants of Summer
    The Sweet Remnants of Summer
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (14)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-60809-8
    $29.00 US
    Large Print
    Random House Large Print
    Jul 19, 2022
  • The Man with the Silver Saab
    The Man with the Silver Saab
    A Detective Varg Novel (3)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31363-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 07, 2022
  • In a Time of Distance
    In a Time of Distance
    and Other Poems
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-593-31598-9
    $22.00 US
    Hardcover
    Pantheon
    Apr 12, 2022
  • Tiny Tales
    Tiny Tales
    Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-593-31297-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 01, 2022
  • Love in the Time of Bertie
    Love in the Time of Bertie
    44 Scotland Street Series (15)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-46844-9
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 22, 2022
  • The Pavilion in the Clouds
    The Pavilion in the Clouds
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-46909-5
    $8.99 US
    Ebook
    Anchor
    Jan 25, 2022
  • Pianos and Flowers
    Pianos and Flowers
    Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31096-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 07, 2021
  • The Geometry of Holding Hands
    The Geometry of Holding Hands
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (13)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-08123-5
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 15, 2021
  • Your Inner Hedgehog
    Your Inner Hedgehog
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31267-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 06, 2021
  • The Talented Mr. Varg
    The Talented Mr. Varg
    A Detective Varg Novel (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-08122-8
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 02, 2021
  • A Promise of Ankles
    A Promise of Ankles
    44 Scotland Street (14)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-593-31328-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 08, 2020
  • The Second-Worst Restaurant in France
    The Second-Worst Restaurant in France
    A Paul Stuart Novel (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56642-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 02, 2020
  • The Department of Sensitive Crimes
    The Department of Sensitive Crimes
    A Detective Varg Novel (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56567-3
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 04, 2020
  • The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
    The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
    44 Scotland Street Series (13)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-9848-9781-7
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 03, 2019
  • The Quiet Side of Passion
    The Quiet Side of Passion
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (12)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6993-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 04, 2019
  • The Race to Kangaroo Cliff
    The Race to Kangaroo Cliff
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55405-6
    $15.99 US
    Hardcover
    Delacorte Press
    Apr 09, 2019
  • The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
    The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-9848-9852-4
    $2.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Feb 26, 2019
  • The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
    The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-56303-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 05, 2019
  • A Distant View of Everything
    A Distant View of Everything
    An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (11)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-6992-9
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 21, 2018
  • Freddie Mole: Lion Tamer
    Freddie Mole: Lion Tamer
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-5247-1379-9
    $10.99 US
    Ebook
    Delacorte Press
    Jul 10, 2018
  • My Italian Bulldozer
    My Italian Bulldozer
    A Paul Stuart Novel (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97283-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Mar 06, 2018
  • A Time of Love and Tartan
    A Time of Love and Tartan
    44 Scotland Street Series (12)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43655-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 06, 2018
  • Chance Developments
    Chance Developments
    Stories
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97187-1
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 28, 2017
  • The Sands of Shark Island
    The Sands of Shark Island
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55403-2
    $7.99 US
    Ebook
    Delacorte Press
    Jul 11, 2017
  • The Bertie Project
    The Bertie Project
    44 Scotland Street Series (11)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43300-2
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 07, 2017
  • School Ship Tobermory
    School Ship Tobermory
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-399-55261-8
    $15.99 US
    Hardcover
    Delacorte Press
    Oct 11, 2016
  • The Novel Habits of Happiness
    The Novel Habits of Happiness
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94924-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 23, 2016
  • Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine
    Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine
    An Isabel Dalhousie Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-525-43191-6
    $0.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    May 31, 2016
  • Emma: A Modern Retelling
    Emma: A Modern Retelling
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7241-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 05, 2016
  • The Revolving Door of Life
    The Revolving Door of Life
    44 Scotland Street Series (10)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97191-8
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 09, 2016
  • At the Reunion Buffet
    At the Reunion Buffet
    An Isabel Dalhousie Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-97046-1
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    May 26, 2015
  • Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
    Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
    44 Scotland Street Series (9)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7000-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Feb 17, 2015
  • The Forever Girl
    The Forever Girl
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80442-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 30, 2014
  • The Mystery of the Missing Lion
    The Mystery of the Missing Lion
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-8041-7327-8
    $7.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 21, 2014
  • Sunshine on Scotland Street
    Sunshine on Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street Series (8)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80440-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 12, 2014
  • Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party
    Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-101-87301-4
    $3.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Aug 05, 2014
  • Trains and Lovers
    Trains and Lovers
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-345-80581-2
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 31, 2013
  • Mystery of Meerkat Hill
    Mystery of Meerkat Hill
    Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh
    978-0-345-80446-4
    $7.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 22, 2013
  • Bertie Plays the Blues
    Bertie Plays the Blues
    44 Scotland Street Series (7)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94849-6
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 08, 2013
  • The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
    The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94923-3
    $14.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 02, 2013
  • A Conspiracy of Friends
    A Conspiracy of Friends
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-94800-7
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 30, 2013
  • Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
    Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27989-7
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 01, 2013
  • The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
    The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73940-7
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Oct 02, 2012
  • The Importance of Being Seven
    The Importance of Being Seven
    44 Scotland Street Series (6)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73936-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 21, 2012
  • The Dog Who Came in from the Cold
    The Dog Who Came in from the Cold
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73944-5
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 29, 2012
  • The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case
    The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-74389-3
    $6.99 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Apr 03, 2012
  • The Charming Quirks of Others
    The Charming Quirks of Others
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-73939-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 01, 2011
  • The Perils of Morning Coffee
    The Perils of Morning Coffee
    An Isabel Dalhousie eBook Original Story
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-90751-6
    $1.99 US
    Ebook
    Pantheon
    Oct 25, 2011
  • Corduroy Mansions
    Corduroy Mansions
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47650-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    May 31, 2011
  • La's Orchestra Saves the World
    La's Orchestra Saves the World
    A Novel
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-47304-2
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 07, 2010
  • The Lost Art of Gratitude
    The Lost Art of Gratitude
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38708-0
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Sep 21, 2010
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
    The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
    44 Scotland Street Series (5)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-45470-6
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jan 12, 2010
  • The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
    The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38707-3
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 28, 2009
  • The World According to Bertie
    The World According to Bertie
    44 Scotland Street Series (4)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-38706-6
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 11, 2008
  • The Careful Use of Compliments
    The Careful Use of Compliments
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7712-0
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 26, 2008
  • Love Over Scotland
    Love Over Scotland
    44 Scotland Street Series (3)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27598-1
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Nov 06, 2007
  • The Right Attitude to Rain
    The Right Attitude to Rain
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7711-3
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 10, 2007
  • Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
    Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7710-6
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Aug 29, 2006
  • Espresso Tales
    Espresso Tales
    44 Scotland Street Series (2)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-307-27597-4
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 11, 2006
  • The Sunday Philosophy Club
    The Sunday Philosophy Club
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7709-0
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jul 12, 2005
  • 44 Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street
    44 Scotland Street Series (1)
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7944-5
    $15.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Jun 14, 2005
  • Portuguese Irregular Verbs
    Portuguese Irregular Verbs
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-7708-3
    $15.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
    The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-9508-7
    $14.95 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
    At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-1-4000-9509-4
    $16.00 US
    Paperback
    Anchor
    Dec 28, 2004
  • The Girl Who Married a Lion
    The Girl Who Married a Lion
    and Other Tales from Africa
    Alexander McCall Smith
    978-0-375-42344-4
    $12.99 US
    Ebook
    Pantheon
    Dec 07, 2004
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