Search results for ""author alexander mccall smith""
HarperCollins Publishers Little Gems – Good Dog Lion
A beautiful, heartwarming story set in Africa about a young boy and his yearning for a pet dog. From internationally bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. High quality cream paper and a special easy-to-read font ensure a smooth read for all. A beautiful, heartwarming story set in Africa about a young boy and his yearning for a pet dog. From internationally bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. Timo and his mother do not have much money – in fact, they have almost none. But that does not matter too much, because Timo has his mother and she has him. They have their little house. They have friends and neighbours. They have the world about them. All of that can be enough for happiness. There is one more thing, though, that Timo would like to have …A dog! High quality cream paper and a special easy-to-read font ensure a smooth read for all.
£7.78
Little, Brown Book Group The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee
Book 17 in the hugely popular 44 Scotland Street series by worldwide bestselling author Alexander McCall SmithGlasgow for Bertie is the promised land. The city of pies and Irn Bru, far from his controlling mother, Irene - his place of escape. But how will he respond to the news of the proposed merging of Edinburgh and Glasgow? A new member of Bertie''s class at school is causing ripples in his social circle. She is called Galactica MacFee and is going to be a match for Olive and her lieutenant, Pansy. And, an incredible new discovery: a Pictish stone, that is said to have the first-know written poem carved into it is the talk of the town. But, when the poem is eventually translated, it is thought it is best to keep it under wraps. In this new instalment in the perennially popular 44 Scotland Street series, we are back in the world of Angus and Domenico, Bruce, Matthew and Elspeth, and, of course, Bertie and his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson.P
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Love in the Time of Bertie
The latest in the hugely popular 44 Scotland Street series from the worldwide bestselling author, Alexander McCall SmithLife for Bertie seems to be moving at a pace that is rather out of his control. Upstairs, at 44 Scotland Street, his father Stuart is powerless to stop over-bearing Irene and her determination that Bertie will travel to deepest, coldest Aberdeen on a three-month sojourn. Can his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson save the day? And can the boys execute a great escape? Meanwhile, further up in the New Town, Bruce Anderson's property development plans are thwarted by a sudden crisis of conscience that leads to a shocking revelation. And, in Big Lou's cafe, it seems that love might blossom at last.Warm hearted, humorous and always wonderfully wise, Love in the Time of Bertie offers philosophical insight as well as sartorial elegance. There are tribulations as well as celebrations in this the next instalment in the 44 Scotland Street series.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
Book 13 in the delightful 44 Scotland Street series, by worldwide bestselling author Alexander McCall SmithIt is summer in Scotland Street (as it always is) and for the habitués of Edinburgh's favourite street some extraordinary adventures lie in waiting. For the impossibly vain Bruce Anderson - he of the clove-scented hair gel - it may finally be time to settle down, and surely it can only be a question of picking the lucky winner from the hordes of his admirers. The Duke of Johannesburg is keen to take his flight of fancy, a microlite seaplane, from the drawing board to the skies. Big Lou is delighted to discover that her young foster son has a surprising gift for dance but she is faced with big decisions to make on his and her futures. And with Irene now away to pursue her research in Aberdeen, her husband, Stuart, and infinitely long-suffering son, Bertie, are free to play. Stuart rekindles an old friendship over peppermint tea whilst Bertie and his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson get more they bargained for from their trip to the circus. And that's just the beginning . . .'Delightful' Sunday Post'Little dramas writ large by the master chronicler of modern life and manners' The Week'Fragrant, refreshing and soothing as a cup of - well, you know what' Kirkus
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Enigma of Garlic
The latest in the hugely popular 44 Scotland Street series from the worldwide bestselling author, Alexander McCall SmithIt's the most anticipated event of the decade: Big Lou and Fat Bob's wedding and everyone is invited! After a wonderful day, Big Lou crashes back down to earth and finds that she is a victim of her own success. The lure of those famous bacon rolls is preventing her from leaving hungry customers without their daily dose of deliciousness - even to go for a long-awaited honeymoon. Will Big Lou find the happiness she so richly deserves? Everyone in Scotland Street hopes so, but, as Burns warned, the best laid plans...The relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Irene is to return for a two-month stay, consigning Bertie to a summer camp. Not satisfied with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia Collie.Can a person really change, even after being struck by lightning? Bruce's metamorphosis and new-found outlook on life is put to the test as he prepares to leave his creature comforts for the monastic simplicity of Pluscarden Abbey. His house sitter, meanwhile, gets a little too comfortable in his new life and discovers that the talented Bruce Anderson's shoes are all too easy to slip into. With great taste comes great responsibility.Come and discover The Enigma of Garlic and join the delightful denizens of Edinburgh's most famous address. This latest instalment of the much-loved 44 Scotland Street series is wise, witty, and full of warmth.
£9.99
Princeton University Press What W. H. Auden Can Do for You
Bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith's charming account of how the poet W. H. Auden has helped guide his life—and how he might guide yours, tooWhen facing a moral dilemma, Isabel Dalhousie—Edinburgh philosopher, amateur detective, and title character of a series of novels by best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith—often refers to the great twentieth-century poet W. H. Auden. This is no accident: McCall Smith has long been fascinated by Auden. Indeed, the novelist, best known for his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, calls the poet not only the greatest literary discovery of his life but also the best of guides on how to live. In this book, McCall Smith has written a charming personal account about what Auden has done for him—and what he just might do for you.Part self-portrait, part literary appreciation, the book tells how McCall Smith first came across the poet's work in the 1970s, while teaching law in Belfast, a violently divided city where Auden's "September 1, 1939," a poem about the outbreak of World War II, strongly resonated. McCall Smith goes on to reveal how his life has related to and been inspired by other Auden poems ever since. For example, he describes how he has found an invaluable reflection on life's transience in "As I Walked Out One Evening," while "The More Loving One" has provided an instructive meditation on unrequited love. McCall Smith shows how Auden can speak to us throughout life, suggesting how, despite difficulties and change, we can celebrate understanding, acceptance, and love for others.An enchanting story about how art can help us live, this book will appeal to McCall Smith's fans and anyone curious about Auden.
£12.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Private Life of Spies: 'Spy-masterful storytelling' Sunday Post
During WW2 there was a rumour that German spies were landing by parachute in Britain, dressed as nuns...Conradin Muller was an unusual spy. He was recruited in Hamburg in June 1943, much against his will, and sent on his first, and only, mission in late September that year. He failed to send a single report back to Germany, and when the War came to an end in May 1945, he fell to his knees and wept with relief.From a highly reluctant German spy who is drawn to an East Anglian nunnery as his only means of escape, to the strange tale of one of the Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf, these are Alexander McCall Smith's intriguing and typically inventive stories from the world of espionage.'Spy-masterful storytelling' Sunday Post'Delightfully old-fashioned and prudent of prose, McCall Smith unspools his tales' Daily Mail'[Adds] another treasure to McCall Smith's already glittering library' New York Journal of Books
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
As a mother, wife, employer and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel Dalhousie is aware that to be human is to be responsible. So when a neighbour brings her a new and potentially dangerous puzzle to solve, once again Isabel feels she has no option but to shoulder the burden.A masterpiece painting has been stolen from Duncan Munrowe, old-fashioned philanthropist, father to two discontented children, and a very wealthy man. As Isabel enters into negotiations with the shadowy figures who are in search of a ransom, a case where heroes and villains should be clearly defined turns murky: the list of those who desire the painting - or the money - lengthens, and hasty judgement must be avoided at all cost. Morals, it turns out, are like Scottish clouds: complex, changeable and tricky to get a firm grip on; they require a sharp observational eye, a philosophical mindset, and the habit of kindness. Fortunately for those around her, Isabel Dalhousie is in possession of all three.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Charming Quirks Of Others
As well as its advantages, there are drawbacks to the enlightened village that is twenty-first-century Edinburgh, where every Saturday night ears burn at dinner parties across the city, and anyone requiring the investigative abilities of a philosophical soul knows where to find her.Jillian McKinlay -- wife of a trustee of an illustrious school -- is the latest petitioner; she asks Isabel to look into a poison-pen letter that makes insinuations about applicants for the position of principal. Isabel''s niece Cat has another new boyfriend who seems too good to be true. And when a pretty cellist with a tragic story takes a fancy to her husband-to-be, Isabel finds herself contemplating an act of heroic and alarming self-sacrifice.
£9.99
Birlinn General I Think of You
This new collection is a fascinating journey into the heart of each of us – from the author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the 44 Scotland Street series. In I Think of You, the reader travels through literary Edinburgh in summer, heartbreak in a rain-drenched glen in the Highlands, a voyage on the Argo in Ancient Greece, and from Dallas to Helsinki and home again. Throughout this collection, the author explores various themes of love, kindness and friendship, as well as the philosophy of food, the idiosyncrasies of language and the importance of canonical hours. Each poem is a journey of the soul that interrogates what it is to love and to be alive.
£13.60
Bonnier Books Ltd Precious and the Mischief at Meerkat Brae: A Young Precious Ramotswe Case
Itchy Coo and Black & White Publishing are delighted to present a new case for the young Precious Ramotswe, translated into Scots for the very first time. Well before Precious Ramotswe founded her Number One Ladies Detective Agency, as an eight-year-old girl she was already solving mysteries. Here, in this delightful, new, enchanting tale for children, we see how the young Precious became the crafty and intuitive private investigator we know and love. In The Mischief at Meerkat Brae, Precious befriends a new boy to her school called Pontsho and his sister Teb, and when she goes to their home for the first time, she discovers that they have an unusual pet, a very clever meerkat called Kosi. Then, when Pontsho and Teb become very upset when their cow goes missing, Precious decides to use her detective skills to solve the mystery but soon finds that all is not quite as simple as it seems on Meerkat Brae...
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Double Comfort Safari Club
THE ELEVENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one with the difficult aunt . . .The no. 1 lady detectives of Botswana travel to a safari lodge in the Okavango Delta to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest. It is a beautiful place full of dangerous, untamed creatures - some of them human. As Mma Ramotswe investigates, it becomes clearer that there is another mystery right under her nose that needs solving: Mma Makutsi is troubled by her fiance Phuti Radiphuti's reluctance to set a date for their wedding.In such matters at least Mma Ramotswe is on familiar terrain.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Private Life of Spies: 'Spy-masterful storytelling' Sunday Post
During WW2 there was a rumour that German spies were landing by parachute in Britain, dressed as nuns...'Spy-masterful storytelling' Sunday Post'Delightfully old-fashioned and prudent of prose, McCall Smith unspools his tales' Daily Mail'[Adds] another treasure to McCall Smith's already glittering library' New York Journal of BooksConradin Muller was an unusual spy. He was recruited in Hamburg in June 1943, much against his will, and sent on his first, and only, mission in late September that year. He failed to send a single report back to Germany, and when the War came to an end in May 1945, he fell to his knees and wept with relief.From a highly reluctant German spy who is drawn to an East Anglian nunnery as his only means of escape, to the strange tale of one of the Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf, these are Alexander McCall Smith's intriguing and typically inventive stories from the world of espionage.
£16.99
Little, Brown Book Group A Song of Comfortable Chairs
The twenty-third book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.Grace Makutsi's husband, Phuti, is in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market. Phuti has always been concerned with quality and comfort, but this new firm seems interested only in profits. To make matters worse, they have a slick new advertising campaign that seems hard to beat. Nonetheless with Mma Ramotswe's help, Phuti comes up with a campaign that may just do the trick.Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is approached by an old friend who has a troubled son. Grace and Phuti agree to lend a hand, but the boy proves difficult to reach, and the situation is more than they can handle on their own. It will require not only all of their patience and dedication, but also the help of Mma Ramotswe and the formidable Mma Potokwani in order to help the child.Faced with more than her fair share of domestic problems, Mma Makutsi deals with it all with her usual grace. That, along with the kindness, generosity, and good sense that the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is known for, assure us that in the end, all these matters will be set right.
£17.09
Little, Brown Book Group Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
As summer blooms in Edinburgh's gardens and Bertie Pollock's birthday appears on the horizon, all at 44 Scotland Street is not cake and sunshine. Newlywed Angus Lordie has been booked by his bride into what he must not call the loony bin; Bruce's first encounter with hot wax brings more anguish than he bargained for; and Bertie's birthday dreams of scout camp and a penknife look set to be replaced by a game of Royal Weddings and a gender-neutral doll. But fate, an amorous Bedouin and the Dubai Tourist Authority conspire to transport Bertie's mother Irene to a warmer - if not a better - place, and once again in Scotland Street the triumph of human kindness over adversity gives cause for celebration.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group La's Orchestra Saves The World
With a failed marriage behind her, La -- short for Lavender -- moves to the Suffolk countryside on the eve of the Second World War to nurse her broken heart. Lonely and at a loss, a friend encourages her to bring the villagers and the men from the local airbase together by forming an amateur orchestra. One of her musician recruits is Feliks, a handsome and enigmatic Polish refugee. A friendship begins to blossom between the two, and La finds her feelings stirring to life again.Poignant, tender and inspiring, La's Orchestra Saves the World celebrates the power of love and friendship in the shadow of the collective tragedy of war, as well as the extraordinary healing power of music.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The World According To Bertie
Poor put-upon Bertie is still struggling to escape his overbearing mother's influence, his yoga lessons and his pink bedroom while wondering why new baby brother Ulysses looks uncomfortably like his psychotherapist. The insufferably handsome Bruce has returned from London to land, on his feet and rent-free, in the arms of heiress Julia Donald. But all is not well among the residents of 44 Scotland Street: Angus's dog and constant companion Cyril is under threat of execution, victim of a miscarriage of justice, while pretty, indecisive Pat and hopeless romantic Matthew are on the verge of making the most terrible mistake of their lives . . . Big Lou finds a new man, Matthew and Pat edge their relationship towards something more permanent - although this development is not without complications, when a glimpse of someone who just might be her handsome, caddish ex-flatmate Bruce sets Pat's pulse racing - and Domenica's friendship with Antonia is tested to the limit when an assortment of her belongings mysteriously appear in Antonia's new flat.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Bertie Plays The Blues: 7
Even down to its well-set Georgian townhouses, Edinburgh is a hymn to measure and harmony. But on Scotland Street, domestic accord is in short supply. Matthew and Elspeth welcome three new arrivals, though the joys of multiple parenthood are somewhat lost due to sleep deprivation and the difficulties of telling their brood apart. Angus and Domenica are to marry, and Domenica has ambitious and disturbing plans for their living arrangements, especially when it appears that Antonia, in Italy recuperating from Stendhal Syndrome, may not return. And little Bertie, feeling blue, puts himself up for adoption on eBay. Can Edinburgh's most deliciously dysfunctional residents forsake discord and learn to dance to the same happy tune?
£9.99
Birlinn Ltd Precious and the Zebra Necklace
Alexander McCall Smithis the author of the highly successfulNo. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the44 Scotland Streetnovels, first published as a serial novel in theScotsman, theIsabel Dalhousienovels, theVon Igelfeldseries and theCorduroy Mansionsnovels.
£6.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf
In the hilarious new novel in the best-selling Detective Varg series, Ulf Varg will need to resolve both a sensitive crime and his own delicate dilemma in the hopes of preserving the peace.The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent downturn of sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere. As the bickering between colleagues intensifies, Ulf tries his best to stay above the fray. But when Anna, a longtime friend and coworker, appears to blame him for an old case that went sideways, it seems she may be putting her own job prospects above their friendship.In the midst of all this, Ulf embarks on an important inquiry: a man's cabin has mysteriously disappeared and Ulf is tasked with finding out what happened. How exactly does one steal a house? And, more to the point, how does one track down a stolen house? Meanwhile, a promising veterinary treatment for deafness in dogs has been announced, and Ulf's dog, Martin, might be the perfect patient.This latest novel is another masterful, farcical installment in the series that defines the genre that Alexander McCall Smith is singlehandedly championing: Scandi blanc.
£17.09
Little, Brown Book Group Your Inner Hedgehog: A Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainment
In the latest entertaining and hilarious Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld novel, our hopelessly out-of-touch hero is forced to confront uppity librarians, the rector of the university and a possible hostile takeover, all while trying to remain studiously above it all.Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and his colleagues at the University of Regensburg's Institute of Romance Philology pride themselves on their unwavering commitment to intellectual excellence. They know it is their job to protect a certain civilized approach to the scholarly arts. So when a new deputy librarian, Dr. Hilda Schreiber-Ziegler, threatens to drag them all down a path of progressive inclusivity, they are determined to stop her in the name of scholarship - even if that requires von Igelfeld to make the noble sacrifice of running for director of the Institute. Alas, politics is never easy, and in order to put his best foot forward, von Igelfeld will be required to take up a visiting fellowship at Oxford and cultivate the attentions of a rather effusive young American scholar. Still, von Igelfeld has always heeded the clarion call of duty, especially when it comes with a larger office.
£13.49
Little, Brown Book Group A Conspiracy Of Friends
Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico is an oasis of old-fashioned civilisation, its inhabitants considerate and peace-loving. But beneath the polite exterior seismic change is stirring.Barbara Ragg makes an eye-popping discovery about her stolid Scottish suitor''s past, while Oedipus Snark - newly appointed and tirelessly self-interested Government Minister - has a close encounter in Switzerland that leaves him a new man all together. Then plucky canine Freddie de la Hay goes missing, and his owner, widower William French, is so shaken by an unexpected declaration of love that he seriously considers making a disappearance himself.Goodhearted, well-intentioned but often to be found barking up the wrong tree, the residents of Corduroy Mansions remain a thoroughly entertaining example to us all.
£9.99
Birlinn General The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee: The New 44 Scotland Street Novel
Glasgow for Bertie is the promised land. The city of pies and Irn Bru, far from his controlling mother, Irene – his place of escape. But how will he respond to the news of the proposed merging of Edinburgh and Glasgow? A new member of Bertie’s class at school is causing ripples in his social circle. She is called Galactica MacFee and is going to be a match for Olive and her lieutenant, Pansy. And, an incredible new discovery: a Pictish stone, that is said to have the first-know written poem carved into it is the talk of the town. But, when the poem is eventually translated, it is thought it is best to keep it under wraps. In this new instalment in the perennially popular 44 Scotland series, we are back in the world of Angus and Domenico, Bruce, Matthew and Elspeth, and, of course, Bertie and his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson. Filled with Alexander McCall Smith’s trademark wit, warmth and humour, this new book is a must-read.
£17.99
Random House USA Inc Blue Shoes and Happiness
£15.60
Little, Brown Book Group The Miracle At Speedy Motors
BOOK 9 IN THE BELOVED NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one with the poison pen letter . . . For the first time in her career as Botswana's no. 1 lady detective, Mma Ramotswe suffers a blow to her faith in the goodness of humanity (and of her neighbours in particular) when she receives a threatening letter. But she does not let this swerve her from the sad plight of an orphan who hopes to find her true family. Meanwhile, at Zebra Drive, Mma Ramotswe's beloved husband Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is also searching for an expensive miracle for their own foster daughter Motholeli.'Exceptional charm' Daily Mail'As fluent and gracious as ever' Sunday Times'Irresistible - there will indeed be miracles' New York Times Book Review
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The 2 Pillars Of Wisdom
Alexander McCall Smith, best-selling author of The No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency, has turned his hand to humour. The delightful result is a creation of comic genius. For in the unnaturally tall form of Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, we are invited to meet a memorable character whose sublime insouciance is a blend of the cultivated pomposity of Frasier Crane and of Inspecteur Clouseau''s hapless gaucherie.Von Igelfeld inhabits the rarefied world of the Institute of Romance Philology at Regensburg, a world he shares with his equally tall and equally ridiculous colleagues, Professors Florianus Prinzel and Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer. Their unlikely adventures are described in three deliciously funny instalments: Portuguese Irregular Verbs, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances.
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Emma
‘It's comfort reading at its most soothing’ Independent ‘Funny, heartfelt and very readable’ Good Housekeeping In this reimagined modern classic, prepare to meet a young woman who thinks she knows everything… Fresh from university, Emma Woodhouse triumphantly arrives home in Norfolk ready to embark on adult life with a splash. Not only has her sister, Isabella, been whisked away on a motorcycle up to London, but her astute governess, Miss Taylor is at a loose end, abandoned in the giant family pile, Hartfield, alongside Emma’s anxiety-ridden father. Someone is needed to rule the roost and young Emma is more than happy to oblige. And there is plenty to delight her in the buzzing little village of Highbury. At the helm of her own dinner parties and instructing her new little protégée, Harriet Smith, Emma reigns forth. But there is only one person who can play with Emma’s indestructible confidence, her old friend and inscrutable neighbour George Knightley – this time has Emma finally met her match?
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends, sometimes of lovers, and on occasion of chocolate. As an Edinburgh philosopher she is certain of where she stands. She can review a book called In Praise of Sin with panache and conviction, but real life is . . . well, perhaps a bit more challenging - particularly when it comes to her feelings for Jamie, a younger man who should have married her niece, Cat. Jamie's handsomeness leaves Isabel feeling distinctly uneasy, and ethically disturbed. 'I am a philosopher', she thinks, 'but I am also a woman'. And more disturbance is in store. When Cat takes a break in Italy, Isabel agrees to run her delicatessen. One of the customers, she discovers, has recently had a heart transplant and is now being plagued by memories that cannot be rationally explained and which he feels do not belong to him. Isabel is intrigued. So intrigued that she finds herself rushing headlong into a dangerous investigation. But she still has time to think about the things that possess her - things like love and friendship, and, of course, temptation. The last of these comes in many forms - chocolate, for example, or seductive Italians . . .
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Lost Art Of Gratitude
Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher and amateur solver of other people's problems, meets an old foe, Minty Auchterlonie, at a birthday party attended by their young children. Ambitious Minty, now the head of a small investment bank, is in trouble with her shareholders. Isabel becomes involved, and is drawn into a murky world of financial concealment. Minty is not the only high-flier in Isabel's life; her niece Cat has just become engaged to a tightrope-walking stuntman. Isabel fears his next job - and the engagement - could end in disaster. Meanwhile, her own boyfriend Jamie has marriage in mind too . . .
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Espresso Tales
In Espresso Tales, Alexander McCall Smith returns home to Edinburgh and the glorious cast of his own tales of the city, the residents of 44 Scotland Street, with a new set of challenges for each one of them. Bruce, the intolerably vain and perpetually deluded ex-surveyor, is about to embark on a new career as a wine merchant, while his long-suffering flatmate Pat MacGregor, set up by matchmaking Domenica Macdonald, finds herself invited to a nudist picnic in Moray Place in the pursuit of true love. Prodigious six-year-old Bertie Pollock wants a boy's life of fishing and rugby, not yoga and pink dungarees, and he plots rebellion against his bossy, crusading mother Irene and his psychotherapist Dr Fairbairn. But when Bertie's longed-for trip to Glasgow with his ineffectual father Stuart ends with Bertie taking money off legendary Glasgow hard man Lard O'Connor at cards, it looks as though Bertie should have been more careful what he wished for. And all the time it appears that both Irene Pollock and Dr Fairbairn are engaged in a struggle with dark secrets and unconscious urges of their own.
£9.04
Little, Brown Book Group The Right Attitude To Rain
The key to contentment in the Scottish climate is the right attitude to rain - just as in life the key to happiness lies in making the best of what you have.Bruised in love by her faithless Irish husband, Isabel Dalhousie is a connoisseur of intimate moral issues: she edits a philosophical journal and spends a great deal of her time considering how to improve the lives of those around her. There is her housekeeper Grace, whose future she must secure; her niece Cat, who is embarking on a new relationship with a dubious workaholic mummy's boy; and even an American couple newly arrived in Edinburgh on a tour. And then there is Jamie, Cat's ex-boyfriend, a handsome, gifted musician fourteen years Isabel's junior, with whom she is slowly and hopelessly falling in love.Intensely thoughtful and consistently entertaining, THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO RAIN is shot through with compassion and unassuming intelligence.
£9.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK The Perfect Hamburger
A funny and poignant children's story from one of the world's most prolific and popular authors Alexander McCall Smith.It's all about hamburgers!Joe has just created the yummiest, juiciest, most delicious hamburger ever - and his friend Mr Borthwick wants to sell it in his hamburger shop to try and win back customers from the new fast-food place across the road. But there's a problem - Joe has completely forgotten the recipe...A pinch of this, a touch of that and a spoonful of something else...the race is on for Joe to remember!
£7.78
Penguin Random House Children's UK The Perfect Hamburger
‘That,’ said Mr Borthwick, ‘was the best hamburger I’ve ever tasted!’Joe has just created the yummiest, juciest, most delicious hamburger ever – and his friend Mr Borthwick wants to sell it in his new hamburger shop. But there’s a problem – Joe has completely forgotten the recipe and the shop is opening very soon.A pinch of this, a touch of that and a spoonful of something else…the race is on for Joe to remember!
£7.78
Little, Brown Book Group The Limpopo Academy Of Private Detection
THE THIRTEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one where Mma Ramotswe meets her hero . . . Mma Ramotswe, normally a peaceful sleeper, finds her slumbers disturbed by dreams of a tall stranger - but she is not quite ready to learn what this vision portends.Soon even Mma Makutsi has to admit that untoward things are occurring around the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: at Speedy motors, Fanwell finds himself in trouble with the law, and the indomitable Mma Potokwani disappears from the orphan farm. Armed with courage, kindness and an instinct for the truth, Mma Ramotswe sets out to restore order . . .
£9.99
Birlinn Ltd Pianos and Flowers
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world.
£13.60
Birlinn General The Pavilion in the Clouds
It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White's intentions. Her suspicion sparks off her mother's imagination and after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation is had with Miss White and a gunshot rings off around the hills.Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St Andrews, is faced, once again with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her Father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long over-due apology?
£15.17
Little, Brown Book Group The Forgotten Affairs Of Youth
Happy with her husband-to-be and beloved son, Isabel Dalhousie has feelings about parenthood that grow more tender daily. So when Jane, a visiting academic adopted and sent to Australia as a baby, asks for help in tracing her Scottish origins, she cannot refuse.However, habitually upright Isabel finds herself beset by temptation - for instance, to be suspicious of Professor Lettuce''s latest subterfuge, and of her niece Cat''s weakness for the wrong man. And when the search for Jane''s parents turns troubling, she can hardly prevent herself from interfering too forcefully in family secrets. As she steers a course between love and laissez-faire, our philosopher heroine succeeds in resisting all temptations but those which must be answered, and teases a solution from every problem.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Unusual Uses For Olive Oil
Life is so unfair, and it sends many things to try Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs and pillar of the Institute of Romance Philology in the proud Bavarian city of Regensburg.There is the undeserved rise of his rival (and owner of a one-legged dachshund), Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer; the interminable ramblings of the librarian, Herr Huber; and the condescension of his colleagues with regard to his unmarried state. But when his friend Ophelia Prinzel takes it upon herself to match-make, and duly produces a cheerful heiress with her own Schloss, it appears that the professor''s true worth is about to be recognised.Maddening, idiotic and hugely entertaining, von Igelfeld is an inspired comic creation.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Conditions of Unconditional Love
BOOK 15 IN THE MUCH-LOVED ISABEL DALHOUSIE SERIES''You can''t go out of the house without tripping over a philosophical question.'' That is a remark made by Isabel Dalhousie to Jamie, the bassoonist who is her handsome younger husband. Isabel''s own life, of course, points to the truth of this observation: she seems to attract philosophical problems in much the same way as a magnet attracts iron filings.In this latest movement in the symphony of her life, Isabel is faced with novel challenges, each of which tests her resolution to do the right thing. Dawn, a nurse in an infectious diseases ward, is let down by her lover and needs a place to live. Not surprisingly, Isabel offers her a roof over her head. What do you do, though if your house-guest locks herself away and avoids all contact?And then there is the pompous and slippery Professor Robert Lettuce. He is planning a prestigious conference, and involves Isabel in it. But look at the budget: why is
£18.99
Little, Brown Book Group Precious and Grace
THE SEVENTEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one with the woman who lost her past . . . Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi's friendship is tested by a curious case: a client who left Botswana thirty years ago and remembers little of her past. The quest for the truth takes the detectives in very different directions - but what if they are both wrong? Meanwhile, Fanwell adopts a stray dog, Mr Polopetsi becomes entangled in a tricky business deal and Violet Sephotho could be running for a prestigious award. Can Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi move beyond their differing views to solve the case and bring harmony to the agency?
£8.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Joy and Light Bus Company
The latest instalment from the beloved THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY seriesMma Ramotswe knows she is very lucky indeed. She has a loving family, good friends and a thriving business doing what she enjoys most: helping people. But the latest mystery she is called upon to solve is distinctly trickier than it initially appears, and, of course, there's plenty to handle in her personal life between Charlie and his new bride and Mma Makutsi and her talking shoes.In the end, Mma Ramotswe's patience and common-sense will win out, and, without a doubt, all will be the better for it.
£18.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Talented Mr Varg: A Detective Varg novel
The second book in Alexander McCall Smith's new DETECTIVE VARG series . . .'Reading the novel feels like a form of meditation . . . There is much to enjoy' ScotsmanSpring is coming slowly to Sweden - though not quite as slowly as Detective Ulf Varg's promised promotion at the Department of Sensitive Crimes. For Varg, referred by his psychoanalyst to group therapy at Malmö's Wholeness Centre, life now seems mostly a circle of self-examination, something which may or may not be useful when it comes to the nature of his profession and the particularly sensitive cases that have recently come to light.All in a day's work for Detective Varg, except that one of his new investigations involves fellow detective Anna; it will require every ounce of self-discipline he has in order to remain professional. The other, more curious case is centred around internationally successful novelist Nils Personn-Cederström. According to his girlfriend, Cederström is being blackmailed - but by whom and for what reason?Accompanied by his irritating but kindly colleague Blomquist, Varg begins his enquiries and soon the answers fall neatly into place. Nothing and no one is ever that simple, however, and not for the first time he learns as much about his own emotional and moral landscape as he does about the motives of others. Now Varg must make a possibly life-changing decision. Will he choose his own happiness over that of his heart's desire?
£9.04
Little, Brown Book Group The Careful Use Of Compliments
For philosophically minded Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, getting through life with a clear conscience requires careful thought. And with the arrival of baby Charlie, not to mention a passionate relationship with his father Jamie, fourteen years her junior, Isabel enters deeper and rougher waters. Late motherhood is not the only challenge facing Isabel. Even as she negotiates a truce with her furious niece Cat, and struggles for authority over her son with her formidable housekeeper Grace, Isabel finds herself drawn into the story of a painter's mysterious death off the island of Jura. Perhaps most seriously of all, Isabel's professional existence and that of her beloved Review come under attack from the machiavellian and suspiciously handsome Professor Dove. A master storyteller whether debating ethics in Edinburgh or pursuing lady detectives in Africa, here Alexander McCall Smith is as witty and wise as his irresistibly spirited heroine.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Sunshine on Scotland Street
Scotland Street witnesses the wedding of the century of Angus Lordie to Domenica Macdonald, but as the newlyweds depart on honeymoon Edinburgh is in disarray. Recovering from the trauma of being best man, Matthew is taken up by a Dane called Bo, while Cyril eludes his dog-sitter and embarks on an odyssey involving fox-holes and the official residence of a cardinal. Narcissist Bruce meets his match in the form of a sinister doppelganger; Bertie, set up by his mother for fresh embarrassment at school, yearns for freedom; and Big Lou goes viral. But the residents of Scotland Street rally, and order - and Cyril - is restored by the combined effects of understanding, kindness, and, most of all, friendship.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Love Over Scotland
With his characteristic warmth, inventiveness and brilliant wit, Alexander McCall Smith gives us more of the gloriously entertaining comings and goings at 44 Scotland Street, the Edinburgh townhouse. Six-year-old prodigy Bertie perseveres in his heroic struggle for truth and balanced good sense against his insufferable mother and her crony, the psychotherapist Dr Fairbairn, going as far as to make a short-lived bid for freedom on a trip to Paris with the Edinburgh youth orchestra. Domenica sets off on an anthropological odyssey with pirates in the Malacca Straits, while Pat attracts several handsome admirers, including a toothsome suitor named Wolf. And Big Lou, eternal source of coffee and good advice to her friends, has love, heartbreak and erstwhile boyfriend Eddie's misdemeanours on her own mind.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Good Husband Of Zebra Drive
THE EIGHTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one where Mma Ramotswe's husband plays detective . . .At the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency there are many new cases for Precious Ramotswe to attend to, including the grave matter of three suspicious deaths at the hospital. But her attention is distracted by domestic problems - for the engagement of Mma Makutsi to Phuti Radiphuti is threatening their friendship.And, unkown to them both, the good husband of Zebra Drive, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, has been tempted into some detective work of his own, with disastrous results . . .
£9.99
Birlinn Ltd Precious and the Zebra Necklace
Alexander McCall Smithis the author of the highly successfulNo. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the44 Scotland Streetnovels, first published as a serial novel in theScotsman, theIsabel Dalhousienovels, theVon Igelfeldseries and theCorduroy Mansionsnovels.
£8.99
Birlinn General The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse: A Wartime Romance
Val was working as a land girl when the Americans arrived at the nearby airfield in 1944. Mike, a young American airman, came into her life soon after, and so too did Peter Woodhouse, a dog badly treated on a neighbouring farm and taken in by her aunt. Little persuasion was needed for Mike to take Peter Woodhouse to the airbase and over time he became the mascot of the American squad, flying with them whenever their Mosquitoes took to the skies. When their plane is shot down over Holland both Mike and his canine companion are feared lost. But unknown to their loved ones at home, Mike and Peter Woodhouse survived the crash. Taken in by the Dutch resistance and with the help of Ubi, a German officer, the pair to remain in hiding till the end of the war when they are reunited with Val. We then follow Val, Mike and Peter Woodhouse as they rebuild a life in England. And Ubi as he returns to Germany at the end of the war and tries to build a new life for himself. His dream is to run a Wall of Death, a circus ring that pitts motorcyclists against gravity as they attempt to stay upright at ever increasing speed...
£8.09