An Evening with Alexander McCall Smith

This October Sir Alexander McCall Smith joins us to celebrate three novels: The Big Cats Dance Party, The Prime of Bertie Pollock, and The Isle of Good Karma.

It's always a joy to host Sandy, and with a line-up such as this it should make for a particularly sparkling evening!

THE BIG CATS DANCE PARTY

Book 27 in the multi-million copy bestselling and perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

"I am a fortunate woman to have such an eventful life," observes Mma Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Perhaps, but there are times when rather too much seems to be happening, and a quieter life might seem rather attractive. This latest despatch from Botswana is certainly full of events, even if it starts with a leisurely trip to buy a pair of shoes as a birthday present for Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. As often happens in Mma Ramotswe's world, one thing leads to another, and we are soon caught up in an ill-thought-out plan hatched by Charlie, junior mechanic and enthusiastic trainee detective. Charlie has met up with two rising stars of the local musical world - jazz players known to their public as Lion and Leopard. He is keen to plan a big event with them, even though Mma Makutsi sees nothing but disaster ahead. Mma Ramotswe would like to keep an eye on the situation, but she has to go up north, to the wilds of the Okavango Delta, where her friends at an elephant sanctuary are battling with a campaign being waged against them. Mma Ramotswe's help is needed, and, of course, is given with all the generosity of spirit that illuminates the character of this most beloved of lady detectives. A happy ending? Of course.

THE PRIME OF BERTIE POLLOCK

A 44 Scotland Street Novel

To find out where we are going, we sometimes need to find out where we came from.

Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori Montagna, who is suffering from an acute identity crisis, wants to know more about her own past, and after doing a DNA test, she discovers that she has a relative she didn't know about. But her new-found family causes a rift between her and her flatmate, Antonia Collie. Can they work out their differences?

For Bruce, it's a case of history repeating itself. After getting all the attention he craves - landing a starring role in a new television series - the universe has one way of putting him in his place. Even in a modern Scotland, lurking Calvinist tendencies might still strike.

And Bertie's dream of getting to the promised land - the Dear Green Place - comes crashing down as he learns that he is to move to the far North East, leaving poor Ranald Braveheart Macpherson a little heartbroken and lost. But upon his return to Edinburgh, the boys take a trip to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and Bertie's kindness gets a very royal recognition.

The Isle of Good Karma

A new stand-alone novel.

It's never too late to make a change.

Single and approaching middle age, Maeve Macdonald feels she has reached a point at which, if she doesn't do something drastic soon, life will have passed her by. And so, after twenty years of teaching, she gives up her career and leaves the only home she's ever known in search of adventure.

As she prepares for this exciting new chapter in her life, travelling through South Asia, she finds that everything is going remarkably well - quite possibly things really are changing for the better. Karma, it appears, is on her side.

But not long after arriving in Nepal, her good luck seems to have run out: an injury puts a pause on her plans, and an unexpected fall nearly ends her new-found friendship with a handsome American called Charles.

Will Maeve have to abandon her trip and go back home alone? And will Charles be able to pluck up the courage to tell Maeve how he really feels before they go their separate ways?

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. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.