LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Winner of the Best Fiction AudioBook of 2009.
The tenth in Mma Ramotswe’s No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, her fans will know just what to expect but at the same time remain delightfully enthralled by a new set of Precious adventures. McCall Smith is consistent and reliable in his witty observations of day-to-day life. However, can Mma Ramotswe equally rely on her trusty white van? Perhaps if she walked more, then she would be healthier and her van would last longer. Or would it?
Despite being a series of ‘Detective’ novels, if you are a reader who prefers kindness and comfort to killing and cruelty, then these are the books for you and you will discover why they have been a phenomenal success around the world.
The audio edition of the collected first season of Alexander McCall Smith's Tea Time for the Traditionally Built has been named the Best Fiction AudioBook of 2009.
The competition was decided by public vote via www.completelynovel.com. From the press release announcing the winners:
"Twenty titles were selected from over one hundred titles entered by audio publishers. The judging panel was formed of key figures from audio publishing, trade press and national media including The Times' audiobook reviewer Christina Hardyment and prolific audio abridger Kati Nicholl. The panel's selections were based on excellence in several criteria: quality of literary content, abridgement, reading, production value and sound quality."
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstSarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from…
More reviews by Sarah Broadhurst About Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
The 10th! instalment in this infinitely enjoyable series finds the ever-charming, ever-resourceful Mma Ramostwe helping people, and vans, with problems in their lives.Mma Ramotswes tiny white van has developed a disturbing noise. But having made numerous repairs to the van over the years, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni her estimable husband and mechanic nonpareil sells it without telling her and presents her with a new, characterless vehicle.
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Tea Time for the Traditionally Built Synopsis
The 10th! instalment in this infinitely enjoyable series finds the ever-charming, ever-resourceful Mma Ramostwe helping people, and vans, with problems in their lives.Mma Ramotswes tiny white van has developed a disturbing noise. But having made numerous repairs to the van over the years, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni her estimable husband and mechanic nonpareil sells it without telling her and presents her with a new, characterless vehicle.
So Mma Ramotswe sets out to recover the van. . . .In the meantime, the thoroughly unpleasant, yet glamorous, Violet Sephotho (who earned 50 percent, at most!, in the final examinations of the Botswana Secretarial College) gets herself a job at the Double Comfort Furniture Store. Why? The reason is obvious: to make a play for Mma Makutsis fianc, Mr Phuti Radiphuti.And a proprietor of a local football team has enlisted the No.
1 Ladies Detective Agency to help explain their dreadful losing streak: surely someone is fixing the games it cant just be a case of unskilled players . . .
This is a job for Charlie, ever-apprentice at the Speedy Motors, to sniff out the competence of the players, as an assistant detective. . . .From the Hardcover edition.
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Alexander McCall Smith Press Reviews
''Tolerance and humanity underpin the whole of this wonderful, hilarious, totally addictive series' DAILY MAIL
Author
About Alexander McCall Smith
Sir Alexander McCall Smith is the author of over one hundred books on a wide array of subjects, including the award-winning The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. He is also the author of the Isabel Dalhousie novels and the world’s longest-running serial novel, 44 Scotland Street. His books have been translated into forty-six languages. Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and holds honorary doctorates from thirteen universities. He was knighted by the King in 2024
Author Photo credit: Copyright Kirsty Anderson
Click here to read an exclusive interview with Alexander McCall Smith by Mary Hogarth.
A Lovereading guide to the works of Alexander McCall Smith...
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was first published in 1998 and then, suddenly, it took off in America to the extent that no less than11 reprints were required in 2003.
Since then, so prolific has been his output, and so has his popularity soared, that there was a time when the sheer multitude of McCall Smith's books led to confusion as to which book fitted into each of the various series under which he writes. One has hardly been able to keep up with the sheer abundance of books published - we reckon at least thirty in less than a decade.
Now, thankfully, things have settled down and the legions of McCall Smiths avid fans can compartmentalise his new books into the four main series under which they sit - The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, The Isabel Dalhousie Novels, The 44 Scotland Street Series and The Corduroy Mansions Series with a few more on top!
There are constant features across the whole panoply of McCall Smith's output. Wry and witty observations about the day-to-day lives of normal people. An innocence and delight in the human condition. And, always, a twinkle on the eye shared by writer and reader. He is a happy writer and that makes for happy readers.
He is best known for the following 4 series of novels (they are shown below in the order they were published) :-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Full Cupboard of Life, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Blue Shoes and Happiness, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, The Double Comfort Safari Club, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, Precious and Grace.
Isabel Dalhousie series: The Sunday Philosophy Club,Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, The Right Attitude to Rain, The Careful Use of Compliments, The Comfort of Saturdays, The Lost Art of Gratitude, The Charming Quirks of Others, The Forgotten Affairs of Youth, The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds, The Novel Habits of Happiness.
44 Scotland Street series: 44 Scotland Street, Espresso Tales, Love Over Scotland, The World According to Bertie, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, The Importance of Being Seven, Bertie Plays the Blues, Sunshine on Scotland Street, Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers, The Revolving Door of Life, The Bertie Project, A Time of Love and Tartan.
Corduroy Mansions Series: Corduroy Mansions, The Dog Who Came in from the Cold, A Conspiracy of Friends.
Author Photo © Graham Clark
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