Showing results by author "Alexander McCall Smith" in All Categories

Alexander McCall Smith is a storyteller par excellence and the master of the serial novel form. Not content with the runaway success of the 44 Scotland Street novels he has established a second series, Corduroy Mansions, of which The Dog Who Came in from the Cold is the second volume. McCall Smith treats his characters as old friends, dropping in for a chat with them and to see what they’re up to.

Isabel Dalhousie - philosopher, mother and friend - is taking on the mammoth task of hosting her school reunion. In the hours before 25 former classmates descend on her home and the caterers arrive to set up a buffet, Isabel has time to reflect. She is mindful of the fact that reunions can bring up all sorts of uncomfortable feelings. Later that night, with the party in full swing, Isabel realises that the pull of the past remains as strong as ever.

This is a story of incredible acrobatics and death-defying stunts! Join Freddie Mole as he tumbles through the air, flies around the big tent and tames four growling lions! Freddie is an ordinary boy who joins the circus one day. He can't believe his luck as he is asked to understudy some of the acts. But is he brave enough to go into the lions' cage?

Corduroy Mansions is the affectionate nickname given to a genteelly crumbling mansion block in London's vibrant Pimlico. This is the home patch of - among others - a lovelorn literary agent, possibly the first ever nasty Liberal Democrat MP, and Freddie de la Hay, an urbane terrier trained to be vegetarian and respectful of feline rights.

Max and Maddy are on the trail of a criminal who'll stop at nothing to sabotage Mr Helium's trans-American hot air balloon race. The prize is a gold balloon worth one million and one dollars, and all the money raised by the race is to go towards the Home for Children Whose Parents Have Disappeared in Balloons - so there's a lot at stake! Will the detectives be able to blow the dastardly villain's plot sky high?

Mma Ramotswe reads the foreword she has written to these tales, then goes on to narrate them all herself, passing them on to us verbally as did her father's aunt to her. From animal fables to mysterious forces residing in the landscape, this collection demonstrates the wealth and variety of African folk tales and the particular magic of Africa's spiritual roots.

Charles Dickens was a literary giant, second only to Shakespeare in the ranks of England's greatest writers. This extensive biographical collection looks at the man, his novels and his legacy to provide an all-round portrait of the much-loved author.

When his loving wife, Betty, plans a trip to Ireland for Fatty O’Leary’s 40th birthday things go wrong almost immediately: the seats in economy class on the plane are too small; Irish bathroom furniture is not as commodious as he'd have liked. And all the time Fatty must put up with the unthinking cruelty of strangers.

At the age of four Clover chooses her own name. Aged six, she falls in love with her best friend, James. But in the adult world, things are not so simple: Clover's mother finds she's fallen out of love with her husband, and realises that James's father is interested in her. As Clover and James, and their parents, navigate their irresistible but baffling mazes of emotion, we are given a beautifully realised tale about how love can shape a life.

Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico is an oasis of old-fashioned civilisation, its inhabitants considerate and peace-loving. But beneath the polite exterior seismic change is stirring. Barbara Ragg makes an eye-popping discovery about her stolid Scottish suitor’s past, while Oedipus Snark – newly appointed and tirelessly self-interested Government Minister – has a close encounter in Switzerland that leaves him a new man all together.

If he's in the right mood, divine Angus might grant you sight of your true love in a dream. You might even fall in love with him, but he'll never love you back. He's too busy making mischief, stealing the palace of the gods from his father, turning his enemies into pigs, and so forth - until he is trapped by his own romantic games, falls for an unattainable woman and is doomed to seek her forever. In 20th-century Scotland, Angus's troubled alter ego searches for his true family and identity.

Max and Maddy Twist's parents were once famous, international detectives - before the evil Professor Sardine ruined their careers, that is. Now they run an ice cream parlour, and it is the services of their crime busting Cluedo champion children that are called upon! Mr Huffendort, a rich Swiss banker is very worried about a series of raids upon banks, carried out by a team of highly-trained St Bernard dogs! Who can be the criminal mastermind behind this evil and cunning plot?

Jenny is very tall for her age, and when she dresses smartly for her first day at a new school, she looks very grown up indeed. So grown up, in fact, that when she arrives at the school, she is mistaken for a new teacher and left in charge of a classroom of kids! Jenny is forced to keep up the act and soon finds herself in all sorts of tricky situations. Whatever happens, it's going to be a real education!

From the creator of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency comes a medley of perverse couplings, casual dates and romantic encounters: hilarious tales that will sadden, inspire, and surprise. McCall Smith, a master of the unexpected and a seamless storyteller, revels in offering us the quirky complications inherent in the entanglements that human beings engineer for themselves - entanglements that can be shocking, unedifying, complex, and sometimes completely disastrous.

In this course, we will discuss the moral aspects of human reproduction. We will discuss various influences on reproduction as well as the scientific advances in reproductive technology. At the end of this course we will not have arrived at answers to the various questions raised, but instead will have provided a base for us to consider the issues at hand and a desire to pursue more study in the important aspects of creating humans.

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world's most prolific and popular authors. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Award Author of the Year Award and a CBE for services to literature.