Alexander McCall Smith

ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

Born August 24, 1948, in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); married; children: two daughters. Education: Studied law in Scotland. Avocational Interests: Plays bassoon in Really Terrible Orchestra. Addresses: Home: Edinburgh, Scotland. E-mail: alexander@alexandermccallsmith.co.uk.

Educator and writer. Professor of medical law at Edinburgh University. Taught law at University of Botswana; helped create a criminal code for Botswana. Human Genetics Commission of the United Kingdom (vice chairman), UNESCO (member, International Bioethics Commission).

Alexander Mccall Smith is an incredibly prolific author of several series for adults and children, as well as nonfiction.  He is perhaps most identified with the #1 Ladies Detective series.

"NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY" SERIES

• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, D. Philip (Cape Town, South Africa), 1998, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 2005.
• Tears of the Giraffe, Polygon (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2000, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 2002.
• Morality for Beautiful Girls, Polygon (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2001, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 2002.
• The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Polygon (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2002, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2003.
• The Full Cupboard of Life, Polygon (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2003, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2004.
• In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2004.
• Blue Shoes and Happiness, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2006.
• The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2007.
• The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2008.
  Tea Time for the Traditional built (2009)
• The Double Comfort Safari Club, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2010.
  Saturday Big Tent Wedding (2011)
  Limpopo Academy (2012)

Smith's inspiration for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the protagonist Mma Precious Ramotswe was his admiration for the women of Africa, according to an interviewer in Publishers Weekly. The novel and subsequent books in the series--including Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and The Kalahari Typing School for Men--are mostly about everyday life in Africa. The character of Mma Ramotswe is the dynamic central force behind these stories. A solidly built, divorced woman in her late thirties, she uses a tiny inheritance to start a detective agency. Her work takes place in the city of Gaborone and in cattle country near the Kalahari Desert. She deals mostly with family conflicts, including cheating husbands and employer-employee troubles. Mma Ramotswe runs a threadbare operation, but she does have an assistant, Mma Makutsi, a secretarial college graduate who has lost better jobs to her prettier classmates. Another key figure is J.L.B. Matekoni, a mechanic who assists them and later becomes engaged to Mma Ramotswe. The bride-to-be is a rather unconventional detective, one who also serves as family counselor, comments on manners and the lack of them, and is less concerned with legally administered justice than with doing right by her clients.

The first installment, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, became a best-selling novel in the United States after it was popularized by word of mouth. Readers and critics have been charmed by the stories, which are more about relationships, customs, and informal justice than sleuthing

Other Writings:

"SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB" SERIES (Isobel Dalhousie)

• The Sunday Philosophy Club, 2004.
• Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, 2005.
• The Right Attitude to Rain, 2006.
• The Careful Use of Compliments, 2007.
• Comforts of a Muddy Saturday, 2008
• Lost Art of Gratitude, 2009
  Charming Quirks of Others, 2010
  Forgotten Affairs of Youth, 2011
  Uncommon Appeal of Clouds, 2012

"VON IGELFELD" SERIES

• Portuguese Irregular Verbs, illustrated by Iain McIntosh, 2003
• The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, illustrated by Iain McIntosh, 2005.
• At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, illustrated by Iain McIntosh, 2005.
  Unusual Uses for Olive Oil  2012

"SCOTLAND STREET" SERIES

• 44 Scotland Street, illustrated by Iain McIntosh, 2005.
• Espresso Tales: The Latest from 44 Scotland Street, illustrated by Iain McIntosh, 2006.
• Love over Scotland, 2007.
• The World According to Bertie, 2008.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, 2010

           The Importance of Being Seven, 2011

La’s Orchestra Saves the World, 2009

Corduroy Mansions, 2009

    First in a new series.

         The Dog Who Came in from the Cold, 2011

          Conspiracy of Friends, 2012

NONFICTION

• (Editor, with Tony Carty) Power and Maneuverability, 1978.
• (With John Kenyon Mason) Butterworths Medico-Legal Encyclopedia, 1987.
• (Editor, with Elaine Sutherland) Family Rights: Family Law and Medical Advances, 1990.
• (With John Kenyon Mason) Law and Medical Ethics, 3rd edition, 1991.
• (With Kwame Frimpong) The Criminal Law of Botswana, 1992.
• (Editor, with Michael A. Menlowe) The Duty to Rescue: The Jurisprudence of Aid, 1993.
• (Editor, with Colin Shapiro) Forensic Aspects of Sleep, Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.
• (With Daniel W. Shuman) Justice and the Prosecution of Old Crimes: Balancing Legal, Psychological, and Moral Concerns, 2000.
• (With Alan Merry) Errors, Medicine, and the Law, 2001.

OTHER

• Children of Wax: African Folk Tales, 1991.
• Heavenly Date and Other Stories, 1995.
• The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa, Pantheon 2004.
• Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams (novel), 2006.

FOR CHILDREN

• The Perfect Hamburger
• Film Boy
• Mike's Magic Seeds
• Suzy Magician
• The Muscle Machine
• The Bubblegum Tree
• The Popcorn Pirates
• The Perfect Hamburger and Other Delicious Stories
• The White Hippo
• Marzipan Max
• The Ice-Cream Bicycle
• The Doughnut Ring
• Paddy and the Ratcatcher,
• The Princess Trick

"AKIMBO" SERIES FOR CHILDREN

"HARRIET BEAN" SERIES FOR CHILDREN

"MAX AND MADDY" SERIES FOR CHILDREN

ONLINE

• Alexander McCall Smith Home Page, http://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk (July 23, 2007).
• California Literary Review http://calitreview.com/64
• Reading Group Guide http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/1_ladies'_detective_agency1.asp
• HBO TV series http://www.hbo.com/the-no-1-ladies-detective-agency/index.html
• Summary of TV episodes, http://www.tv.com/the-no.-1-ladies-detective-agency/show/75252/summary.html
• BBC TV series http://www.bbc.co.uk/ladies/

Read-alikes:  (from NoveList)

Seminal Mystery writer Agatha Christie is the inspiration and role model for Precious Ramotswe's private detecting. Though not a professional investigator like Mma Ramotswe, Christie's character Miss Marple has a likeable, inquisitive nature that should resonate with fans of Ramotswe. Miss Marple's amateur, busybody sleuthing should also appeal to fans of Isabel Dalhousie, McCall Smith's occasional gumshoe in the Sunday Philosophy Club series. Christie's other famous investigator, Hercule Poirot, might be a good character for fans of Professor von Igelfeld of Portuguese Irregular Verbs. Though merely an academic, not a detective, von Igelfeld has the same conceit and pompousness that make Poirot so endearing. All of Christie's Mysteries feature charming characters, minimal violence, and gentle sensibilities. The first Hercule Poirot book is The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in which the detective must use his wits and observation to pinpoint a poisoner from a large circle of suspects. The first Miss Marple book is The Murder at the Vicarage, wherein Miss Marple uses her intuition and insight into human nature to find a killer.

Fans of McCall Smith's vivid settings and early twentieth century style should consider R. K. Narayan. His wonderfully detailed Malgudi books create a compelling vision of India; without Narayan, said his eminent author friend Graham Green, "I could never have known what it is like to be an Indian." Ordinary, interesting people do ordinary, interesting things in the Malgudi stories, much like the characters in McCall Smith's books, especially in the 44 Scotland Street series. Straightforward but thoughtful prose illuminates Narayan's investigation into human nature, and a gentle touch of humor and irony speaks to universal themes that transcend the fictional Indian town. As it is not necessary to read the books in series order, readers may wish to start with one of Narayan's most acclaimed books, The Guide, winner of India's most prestigious literary award, the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy. Attention to character drives The Guide, in which a newly-released prisoner is mistaken for a holy man and decides to act the part.

James Thurber, a prolific writer during the first part of the twentieth century, may be a good choice for those who love McCall Smith's subtle but constant humor. As a columnist for the New Yorker, Thurber became a master of short comedy. His characters will be familiar to McCall Smith fans for their peculiar perspectives and laughably human flaws. They manage to turn ordinary, trivial occurrences into comical interludes of giant proportion. Those who like the drawings in Portuguese Irregular Verbs and the 44 Scotland Street series might enjoy the lighthearted illustrations interspersed throughout much of Thurber's work. Fans of the linguistic humor in Portuguese Irregular Verbs may wish to try The Wonderful O, an absurdist fable about the dire consequences of outlawing a vowel. For a more general introduction to Thurber's lightly ironic humor, try the short stories in My World — And Welcome to It, populated by well-drawn characters with comic delusions.

Clyde Edgerton is a master at creating the sort of close-knit communities that characterize McCall Smith's novels. Normal people with normal problems form the heart of Edgerton's books, which study human nature with humor and compassion. Edgerton, like McCall Smith, writes books that are gentle but not spineless, warm but not bland. Mildly strong language is infrequent, though it does occur, especially for comedic effect, and difficult personal problems do crop up, albeit rarely. Edgerton shares McCall Smith's ear for dialogue, though his books are set in the American South, rather than Europe or Africa. Try starting with Lunch at the Piccadilly, set in a nursing home and starring several quirky elderly ladies, one eccentric preacher, and a long-suffering, able-bodied nephew. This lighthearted study of aging may especially appeal to fans of 44 Scotland Street for the sense of community shared by different people living in the same building.

Literary Fiction writer Jon Hassler writes remarkably funny books that explore the human experience, from personal minutiae to shared universal problems. As in McCall Smith's books, the characters tend to be likable, though they have their share of failings. Hassler's tone can be darker and his topics more serious than what is typically found in McCall Smith, but he always treats his subject with compassion and grace. Over the course of several books he has established a community of such richness to rival anything by McCall Smith. The first book about this small Minnesota community is Hassler's debut novel, Staggerford. Taking place over the course of a week, Staggerford examines lives of ordinary, richly-flawed people and the difficult things that can happen to them.

Jessica Zellers works in Adult Services at the Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library whenever she's not reading fat Russian novels.