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    The Private Side of Friendship

    Author Alexander McCall Smith On Tour
    Ebook
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Jun 09, 2026 | 224 Pages | 9798217010134
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    Six university friends, one city, the time of their lives--a gorgeous and moving story of the strangers who find themselves sharing a college flat in Edinburgh.

    It's 1988, and on the verge of a reunion with friends she hasn't seen since graduation, Julie recalls her halcyon student days of 1984 and the strange tumultuous time they lived through.

    The friends – each from a very different background – are living in a gorgeous terraced flat in their Edinburgh idyll. As they navigate relationships and the unspoken rules of flat sharing, the troubled world all around them seems rather distant. But in the nearby hometown of one of the flatmates, the Miners' Strike is bringing about a huge political shift.

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

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    Six university friends, one city, the time of their lives--a gorgeous and moving story of the strangers who find themselves sharing a college flat in Edinburgh.

    It's 1988, and on the verge of a reunion with friends she hasn't seen since graduation, Julie recalls her halcyon student days of 1984 and the strange tumultuous time they lived through.

    The friends – each from a very different background – are living in a gorgeous terraced flat in their Edinburgh idyll. As they navigate relationships and the unspoken rules of flat sharing, the troubled world all around them seems rather distant. But in the nearby hometown of one of the flatmates, the Miners' Strike is bringing about a huge political shift.

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

    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

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