Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, FRSE (born 24 August 1948), is a British writer. He was raised in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

(now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

) and formerly Professor of Medical Law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He became an expert on

medical law Medical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a br ...

and

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, m ...

and served on related British and international committees. He has since become known as a fiction writer, with sales in English exceeding 40 million by 2010 and translations into 46 languages. He is known as the creator of ''

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' is a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith set in Botswana and featuring the character Mma Precious Ramotswe. The series is named after the first novel, published in 1998. Twenty-two novels have been p ...

'' series. The "McCall" derives from his great-great-grandmother Bethea McCall, who married James Smith at Glencairn, Dumfries-shire, in 1833.

Early life

Alexander McCall Smith was born in 1948 in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

in the British colony of

(present-day

), to British parents. He was the only son, having three elder sisters. His father worked as a public prosecutor in Bulawayo. McCall Smith's paternal grandfather was the medical doctor and New Zealand community leader

George Marshall McCall Smith George Marshall McCall Smith (1882–1958) was a Scottish medical doctor, medical superintendent and community leader in New Zealand. He was born in Nairn, Scotland in 1882, emigrating to New Zealand in 1914. For 34 years he ran Rawene Hospita ...

, born at

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradi ...

in Scotland. McCall Smith was educated at the Christian Brothers College in Bulawayo before moving to Scotland at age 17 to study law at the

, where he earned his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and PhD degrees. He soon taught at Queen's University Belfast, and while teaching there he entered a literary competition: one a children's book and the other a novel for adults. He won in the children's category.

Professional career

Alexander McCall Smith (48980730883) (cropped)

He returned to southern Africa in 1981 to help co-found the law school and teach law at the

University of Botswana The University of Botswana, popularly known as UB, was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. Th ...

. While there, he co-wrote ''The Criminal Law of Botswana'' (1992). He was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and is now

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at its

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, l ...

. He retains a further involvement with the university in relation to the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

. He is the former chairman of the Ethics Committee of the '' British Medical Journal'' (until 2002), the former vice-chairman of the

Human Genetics Commission The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) was an advisory non-departmental public body that advised the UK government on the ethical and social aspects of genetics. This included genetic testing, cloning and other aspects of molecular medicine. The Comm ...

of the United Kingdom, and a former member of the

International Bioethics Committee The International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO is a body composed of 36 independent experts from all regions and different disciplines (mainly medicine, genetics, law, and philosophy) that follows progress in the life sciences and its applic ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. After achieving success as a writer, he gave up these commitments. He was appointed a

in the

New Year's Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark thi ...

issued at the end of December 2006 for services to literature. In June 2007, he was awarded the Honorary Degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

at a ceremony celebrating the tercentenary of the University of Edinburgh School of Law. In June 2015 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at a graduation ceremony at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Personal life

He settled in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1984. He and his wife Elizabeth, a physician, bought and renovated a large Victorian mansion in the

Merchiston Merchiston ( ) is a residential area around Merchiston Avenue in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Location Merchiston Avenue is 1.3 miles Southwest of the West End of Edinburgh's principal street, Princes Street. Other areas near Merchi ...

/ Morningside area of the city. They lived there for almost 30 years, raising their two daughters. Nearby lived the authors

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a sch ...

, and Kate Atkinson. An amateur bassoonist, he co-founded The Really Terrible Orchestra. He has helped to found Botswana's first centre for opera training, the Number 1 Ladies' Opera House, for whom he wrote the libretto of their first production, a version of '' Macbeth'' set among a troop of

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ...

s in the

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

. In 2009 he received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

presented by Awards Council member Archbishop Desmond Tutu at an awards ceremony at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2012 he appeared in a documentary about the life and work of author

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

, ''Revealing Mr. Maugham''. In 2014 McCall Smith purchased the Cairns of Coll, a chain of uninhabited islets in the Hebrides. He said, "I intend to do absolutely nothing with them, and to ensure that, after I am gone, they are held in trust, unspoilt and uninhabited, for the nation. I want them kept in perpetuity as a sanctuary for wildlife – for birds and seals and all the other creatures to which they are home." During a visit to New Zealand in 2014 McCall Smith visited

Rawene Rawene is a town on the south side of the Hokianga harbour, in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 12 passes to the south. The town lies at the apex of a peninsula. A car ferry links it to Kohukohu and the northern Hokianga. History Rawen ...

, where his grandfather, George McCall Smith, ran the hospital for 34 years and created the Hokianga area health service.

Author

McCall Smith is a prolific author of fiction, with several series to his credit. He writes at a prodigious rate: "Even when travelling, he never loses a day, turning out between 2,000 and 3,000 words day– but more like 5,000 words when at home in Edinburgh. His usual rate is 1,000 words an hour." He has gained the most fame for his '' No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency'' series, featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe and set in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

. The first novel was published in 1998. By 2009, the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series had sold more than 20 million copies in English editions. According to his publisher in Edinburgh, "He was, until 2005, a professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, but gave up the position to concentrate on his writing and now writes full time." He published 30 books in the 1980s and 1990s before he began the series that has brought him the world's notice. In 2008 he wrote a serialised online novel '' Corduroy Mansions'', with the audio edition read by

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...

made available at the same pace as the daily publication. He wrote more than ten chapters ahead of publication, finding the experience of serialised publication to be "a frightening thing to create a novel while his readers watched. 'I am like a man on a tightrope.'" In 2009 he donated the short story "Still Life" to Oxfam's "

Ox-Tales Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best-known authors. All donated their stories to Oxfam. The books and stories are loosely based on the four elements: Earth, Fire, Air and Water. The Ox-Tales books w ...

" project, comprising four collections of stories written by 38 British authors. McCall Smith's story was published in the "Air" collection.

Bibliography

''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series

#1998: ''

'' #2000: ''

Tears of the Giraffe ''Tears of the Giraffe'' is the second in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana, which features the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe. The agency takes on two cases, one involving a c ...

'' #2001: ''

Morality for Beautiful Girls ''Morality for Beautiful Girls'' is the third detective novel in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana. The novel features the Motswana protagonist Mma Precious Ramotswe. Her fiancé is ...

'' #2002: ''

The Kalahari Typing School for Men ''The Kalahari Typing School for Men'' is the fourth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe. Plot summary Mma Ramotsw ...

'' #2003: ''

The Full Cupboard of Life ''The Full Cupboard of Life'' is the fifth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe as principal detective. In this n ...

'' #2004: ''

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies ''In the Company of Cheerful Ladies'' is the sixth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe. Work and personal worries, ...

'' (also known as: ''The Night-Time Dancer'') #2006: '' Blue Shoes and Happiness'' #2007: '' The Good Husband of Zebra Drive'' #2008: ''

The Miracle at Speedy Motors ''The Miracle at Speedy Motors'', published in 2008, is the ninth in ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe Preciou ...

'' #2009: ''

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built ''Tea Time for the Traditionally Built'', published in 2009, is the tenth in ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe ...

'' #2010: ''

The Double Comfort Safari Club ''The Double Comfort Safari Club'', published in 2010, is the eleventh in ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe. ...

'' #2011: ''

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party ''The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party'' is the twelfth mystery novel ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series by Alexander McCall Smith Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE (born 24 August 1948), is a British writer. He was raised ...

'' #2012: ''

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection ''The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection'' is the thirteenth mystery novel by Alexander McCall Smith in ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' series, first published in 2012. The story is set primarily in Gaborone, with Motswana Precious Ramo ...

'' #2013: ''

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon ''The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon'' is the fourteenth mystery novel by Alexander McCall Smith in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, first published in 2013. The novel features the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe and is set in Bo ...

'' #2014: ''

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café ''The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café'' is the fifteenth mystery novel by Alexander McCall Smith in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, first published in 2014. The novel features the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe, commonly addressed ...

'' #2015: '' The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine'' #2016: '' Precious and Grace'' #2017: '' The House of Unexpected Sisters'' #2018: '' The Colors of All the Cattle'' #2019: '' To the Land of Long Lost Friends'' #2020: '' How to Raise an Elephant'' #2021: ''

The Joy and Light Bus Company ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' #2022: '' A Song of Comfortable Chairs'' Extra: 2013: '' The Slice of No. 1 Celebration Storybook'' (ebook only)

''44 Scotland Street'' series

*See also: Bertie Pollock,

44 Scotland Street ''44 Scotland Street'' is an episodic novel by Alexander McCall Smith, the author of ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency''. The story was first published as a serial in ''The Scotsman'', starting 26 January 2004, every weekday, for six months. ...

#2005: ''

'' #2005: '' Espresso Tales'' #2006: '' Love Over Scotland'' #2007: '' The World According to Bertie'' #2008: '' The Unbearable Lightness of Scones'' #2010: '' The Importance of Being Seven'' #2011: '' Bertie Plays The Blues'' #2012: '' Sunshine on Scotland Street'' #2013: '' Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers'' #2015: '' The Revolving Door of Life'' #2016: '' The Bertie Project'' #2017: '' A Time of Love and Tartan'' #2019: '' The Peppermint Tea Chronicles'' #2020: '' A Promise of Ankles'' #2022: '' Love in the Time of Bertie''

''The Sunday Philosophy Club'' series

also known as Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries #2004: '' The Sunday Philosophy Club'' #2005: ''

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate ''Friends, Lovers, Chocolate'' is the second of the '' Sunday Philosophy Club'' series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie. It was first published in 2005, and is the s ...

'' #2006: '' The Right Attitude to Rain'' #2007: '' The Careful Use of Compliments'' #2008: '' The Comfort of Saturdays'' (UK title) or: ''The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday'' (American title) #2009: '' The Lost Art of Gratitude'' #2010: '' The Charming Quirks of Others'' #2011: '' The Forgotten Affairs of Youth'' #2011: '' The Perils of Morning Coffee'' (ebook only) #2012: '' The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds'' #2015: '' The Novel Habits of Happiness'' #2015: '' At the Reunion Buffet'' (ebook only) #2016: '' Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine'' (ebook only) #2017: '' A Distant View of Everything'' #2018: '' The Quiet Side of Passion'' #2020: '' The Geometry of Holding Hands'' #2022: '' The Sweet Remnants of Summer''

''Corduroy Mansions'' series

#2009: '' Corduroy Mansions'' #2009: ''

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold ''The Dog Who Came in from the Cold'' is the second online novel by Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In the first series, the author wrote a chapter a day, starting on 15 Sep 2008, the series running fo ...

'' (published online daily i
serial form
also published as a hardcover book on 1 May 2010) #2011: '' A Conspiracy of Friends''

''Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments'' series

#1997: '' Portuguese Irregular Verbs'' #2003: '' The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs'' #2003: '' At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances'' #2004: ''The 2 Pillars of Wisdom'' – An omnibus edition of the first three von Igelfeld titles #2011: '' Unusual Uses for Olive Oil'' #2021: '' Your inner hedgehog''

''Detective Varg'' series

#2019: ''The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists'' (ebook only) #2019: ''The Department of Sensitive Crimes'' (his given name is stylised as Älexander on the cover) #2019: ''Varg in Love'' (ebook only) #2020: ''The Talented Mr. Varg'' #2021: ''The Man with the Silver Saab''

''Big-Top Mysteries'' series

#2019: ''The Case of the Vanishing Granny'' #2019: ''The Great Clown Conundrum''

''Paul Stewart'' series

#2016: '' My Italian Bulldozer'' #2019: ''The Second Worst Restaurant in France''

Other novels

#2008: '' La's Orchestra Saves the World'' #2012: '' Trains and Lovers'' #2014: '' The Forever Girl'' #2014: '' Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party'' #2015: '' Emma: A Modern Retelling'' #2017: '' The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse'' #2022: '' The Pavilion in the Clouds''

Short stories

*2011: "The Strange Story of Bobby Box" (published in the young adult anthology ''What You Wish For'')

Anthologies

*1991: ''Children of Wax: African Folk Tales'' *1995: ''Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations'' *2004: ''The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa'' *2006: ''Baboons Who Went This Way and That (Tales from Africa)'' *2015: ''Chance Developments: Unexpected Love Stories'' *2016: ''Marvellous Mix-ups'' *2019: ''Pianos and Flowers''

Children's novels

*1980: '' The White Hippo'' *1984: '' The Perfect Hamburger'' *1988: '' Alix and the Tigers'' *1990: '' The Tin Dog'' *1991: '' Calculator Annie'' *1991: '' Marzipan Max'' *1991: '' The Popcorn Pirates'' *1992: '' The Doughnut Ring'' *1993: Who Invented Peanut Butter? *1994: '' Paddy and the Ratcatcher'' *1995: '' The Muscle Machine'' *1996: '' The Bubblegum Tree'' *1997: '' The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean'' *2000: '' Teacher Trouble'' *2006: '' Dream Angus'' *2016: '' Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer'' *2018: '' Hari and his Electric Feet'' *2018: '' Max Champion and the Great Race Car Robbery''

Memoir/literary appreciation

* 2013: ''

What Auden Can Do for You What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' What ...

Academic texts

*1978: ''Power and Manoeuvrability'' (with Tony Carty) *1983: ''Law and Medical Ethics'' (with J. Kenyon Mason) (this text has gone through several editions: an eighth, by Mason and Graeme Laurie, was published in 2010; McCall Smith contributed to the first six editions) *1987: ''Butterworths Medico-Legal Encyclopaedia'' (with J. Kenyon Mason) *1990: ''Family Rights: Family Law and Medical Advances'' (with Elaine Sutherland) *1991: ''All About Drink and Drug Abuse'' (educational text) *1992: ''The Criminal Law of Botswana'' (with Kwame Frimpong) *1993: ''The Duty to Rescue'' (with Michael Menlowe, 1993) *1992: ''Scots Criminal Law'' (with David H Sheldon, second edition published 1997) *1997: ''Forensic Aspects of Sleep'' (with Colin Shapiro) *2000: ''Justice and the Prosecution of Old Crimes'' (with Daniel W. Shuman) *2001: ''Errors, Medicine and the Law'' (with Alan Merry) *2003: ''A Draft Criminal Code for Scotland'' (with Eric Clive, Pamela Ferguson and Christopher Gane) *2004: ''Creating Humans: Ethical Questions where Reproduction and Science Collide'' (collected lectures, audio recordings)

References

External links

Prof. Alexander McCall Smith's homepage at the Law School, University of Edinburgh

Author's homepage at Random House

Author's homepage at Polygon & Birlinn Limited

Author's homepage at Little, Brown
* *
Alexander McCall Smith interviewed on ''Conversations from Penn State''

''Write TV'' Public Television Interview with Alexander McCall Smith

Interview with the author
at Powells.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McCall Smith, Alexander 1948 births Living people People from Bulawayo Writers from Edinburgh Alumni of Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law Academics of the University of Edinburgh Bioethics British Book Award winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Scholars of medical law People associated with Edinburgh Rhodesian novelists Scottish children's writers Scottish crime fiction writers Scottish legal scholars Scottish novelists Scottish short story writers Zimbabwean children's writers Zimbabwean novelists Zimbabwean male writers British male novelists Zimbabwean male short story writers Zimbabwean short story writers Zimbabwean people of Scottish descent Scottish people of Zimbabwean descent Audiobook narrators Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom University of Botswana faculty