Promotional Information

* The fifth volume of Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful serial novels set in Edinburgh's New Town

About the Author

Following a distinguished career as a Professor of Medical Law, Alexander McCall Smith has turned to writing full-time. He is the author of over sixty books on a wide array of subjects, and his books have been translated into thirty-six languages. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife.

Reviews

Fans of bestseller Smith's two mystery series set in Botswana and Edinburgh will find the same understanding, affectionate look at human frailties and foibles in this sunny series about the adventures and misadventures of a precocious six-year-old, Bertie Pollock, and a host of other folks in contemporary Edinburgh. In the superlative fifth entry (after The World According to Bertie), Bertie's parents engage in a Wodehousian power struggle about how their young child should be raised, wondering whether his desire to become a scout is a good thing. The neatly interwoven story lines include the travails of a young, newly married couple and an artist who finds himself saddled with too many dogs. One character's scheme to recover a Spode tea cup that her neighbor has permanently appropriated is particularly evocative of P.G. Wodehouse, though Smith's characters are less broadly drawn and more multidimensional than, say, Jeeves and Wooster. (Jan.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.