Alexander McCall Smith

24 featured booksAlexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith, often referred to as ‘Sandy’, is one of the world’s most prolific and best-loved authors. For many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the UK and abroad before turning his hand to writing fiction. He has written and contributed to more than 100 books including specialist academic titles, short story collections, and a number of immensely popular children’s books. His first book, The White Hippo—a children’s book, was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1980. But it wasn’t until the publication of the highly successful The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series that Alexander became a household name. The series has now sold over twenty million copies in the English language alone, and since the books took off, he has devoted his time to writing. His various series of books have been translated into forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the popular 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman newspaper and now the longest-running serial novel in the world; the Isabel Dalhousie novels, and the von Igelfeld series. He is also the author of the Corduroy Mansions series, which started life as an engaging cross-media serial written for the Telegraph online. In addition to these series, Alexander has written a number of stand-alone novels, including The Forever Girl, Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party, My Italian Bulldozer, The Second Worst Restaurant in France, Chance Developments and Pianos and Flowers. Earlier stand alone books include Trains and Lovers: A Heart’s Journey; La’s Orchestra Saves the World; and Emma—a reworking of the classic Jane Austen novel. He has also authored many non-fiction titles, the latest of which are A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh and What W.H. Auden Can Do For You. Recently Alexander has written a new children’s series—The School Ship Tobermory—and we now have four books in the series. This increases the number of children’s books he has written to more than thirty. Alexander has received numerous awards for his writing and holds twelve honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and North America. In 2007 he received a CBE for services to literature and in 2011 was honoured by the President of Botswana for services through literature to the country. In 2015 he received the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction and in 2017 The National Arts Club of America—Medal of Honor for Achievement in Literature.

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Overview

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24 representative editions

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Display name
Alexander McCall Smith
Personal name
Alexander McCall Smith
Source identifier
OL336504A

Featured books

Representative editions for works actually authored by this person.

Works in catalog

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Pianos and Flowers
Representative edition published 2023
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Nuns and Spies
Representative edition published 2023
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Exquisite Art of Getting Even
Representative edition published 2023
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Private Life of Spies and the Exquisite Art of Getting Even
Representative edition published 2023
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From a Far and Lovely Country
Representative edition published 2023
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Your Inner Hedgehog
Representative edition published 2022
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The Joy and Light Bus Company
Representative edition published 2022
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In a Time of Distance
Representative edition published 2022
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Untitled Botswana 2022
Representative edition published 2022
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Love in the Time of Bertie
Representative edition published 2022
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Sweet Remnants of Summer
Representative edition published 2022
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Real Meaning of Garlic
Representative edition published 2022
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The Talented Mr. Varg
Representative edition published 2021
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The Geometry of Holding Hands
Representative edition published 2021
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How to Raise an Elephant
Representative edition published 2021
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Tiny Tales
Representative edition published 2021
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A Promise of Ankles
Representative edition published 2021
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The Man with the Silver Saab
Representative edition published 2021
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The Pavilion in the Clouds
Representative edition published 2021
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The Department of Sensitive Crimes
Representative edition published 2020
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The Peppermint Tea Chronicles
Representative edition published 2020
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To The Land of Long Lost Friends
Representative edition published 2020
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The good pilot Peter Woodhouse
Representative edition published 2019
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The colors of all the cattle
Representative edition published 2019
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