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44 Scotland Street Audiobook

44 Scotland Street

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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2004.
Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, 2004.

First published in 110 episodes in The Scotsman newspaper, 44 Scotland Street revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in the author's home city of Edinburgh.

One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. We immediately recognise the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership of Scotland's most exclusive golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented 5-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian. Then there is Domenica Macdonald who is that type of Edinburgh lady who sees herself as a citizen of a broader intellectual world.

44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith, tackling issues of trust and honesty, snobbery and hypocrisy, love and loss, but all with great lightness of touch.

Click here to see all the titles in our Alexander McCall Smith collection.

©2005 Alexander McCall Smith; (P)2005 Time Warner AudioBooks

What the Critics Say

"Readers needn't possess plaid clothes or a brogue to savor this wise, witty send-up of Edinburgh rogues." (Booklist)
"The possibility of romance, the ongoing ups and downs of the large, well-drawn cast of characters, the intricate plot, and the way Smith nimbly jumps from situation to situation and POV to POV...works beautifully." (Publishers Weekly)

What Members Say

Average Customer Rating

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Performance


There are no listener reviews for this title yet.

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  • Eleanor
    Sydney, Australia
    2/05/11
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Charming and wittily observed novel."

    Charming and wittily observed novel....revealing of human nature and Edinburgh itself. Must now read all the series. Blythe Duff read superbly - nothing against David Rintoul, but I do wish Duff had read them all.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Donn Edwards
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    22/11/09
    Overall
    "Charming, entertaining, a great listen"

    I was given the second book, "Espresso Tales" on CD, and enjoyed the first CD enough to want to listen to the entire series.

    Blythe Duff does a wonderful job of bringing these interesting characters to life, and their individual stories and incidents make for a wonderful tapestry of life. They do not seem to be contrived or artificial, which makes the book both plausible and entertaining.

    I can see myself listening to the entire series. The setting is very different to Mma Ramotswe in Botswana, but the storytelling and attention to character detail is just as good as the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
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  • Dee Murray
    16/06/17
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Beautiful narration"

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book not least because of the narrator. She captures the Edinburgh accents perfectly (to my Glaswegian ears at least). As Domenica she sounds like a neighbour who is from Edinburgh. The book is about a close in Edinburgh and the people who live there. Some you will love, some you will like well enough and one, maybe two, you will not like at all. Poor Bertie. I don't usually listen to abridged books but didn't feel anything lacking. I had a look to see if Blythe Duff had recorded anything else but, sadly, there's nothing in the Audible library. I hope she does more soon. I recommend this book.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Colin McIntosh
    Largs, Scotland
    28/12/16
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Next challenge"

    So now I've set myself the 44 Scotland St series to listen to. Really engaging. Such a shame Blythe Duff isn't reading them all as she's a wonderful narrator

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Pud
    17/01/16
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Great book loved listening to it.ur"
    Would you listen to 44 Scotland Street again? Why?

    The first you don't take every thing in. So far have heard it twice


    What did you like best about this story?

    All the difference people in it. It came to life for me


    What does Blythe Duff bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

    I love her voice, it's been so long since I heard her on on TV it was a great surprise


    If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

    Go and be entertained


    Any additional comments?

    Put it on tv please

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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