1+1+1 for 365, day 16: A Precious Lady Detective

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything." - Alexander McCall Smith (Morality for Beautiful Girls)

BOOK OF THE DAY
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

The novels featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe, who sets up the first private  detective agency in Gaborone,  Botswana, have become international bestsellers.  These stories are as much about human nature and a celebration of the best things about Botswana as it is about Mma's Ramotswe's unique way of solving her cases - cases that are not about murders and other major crimes, but about those smaller yet intriguing matters that are important to her clients.

The characters quickly find their way into your heart and soon you feel as though you personally know Mma Ramotswe,  her assistant Mma Grace Makutsi,  and her suitor (and later her husband), Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.  The always-formally addressed Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is the owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and in due course the books become as much the story about this establishment as it is about the detective agency.   It is a joy to get to know the cast of well-drawn major and minor characters and read the warm descriptions of everyday life in Gaborone.

It seems remarkable that these delightful novels were witten by a Scottish lawyer-turned full-time author. However, this fact is less surprising when one learns that McCall Smith was born in Zimbabwe and matriculated there (at CBC in Bulawayo). It is only when he started his university studies that he moved to Scotland to study law at the University of Edinburgh, and where he finally received his Ph.D. in law.

While teaching law at Queen's University in Belfast, his writing career also blossomed: he won a literary competition with a children's book and soon became a prolific author.  But it was the No 1 Ladies Detective books that won him international fame.  They have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold more than 20 million copies to date.  They have been made into a TV series (with Jill Scott as Mma. Ramotswe) and McCall Smith also adapted the series for BBC Radio 4.

These books were doubtlessly inspired at least in part by his stay in Botswana the early 1980s, where he taught law at the University of Botswana.  He returned to Scotland in 1984 to live in  Edinburgh, Scotland with his wife, Elizabeth and their two daughters. 

Apart from the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, his output also includes other popular series (especially the Scotland Street series and Sunday Philosophy Club series) as well as the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels, short stories, children's books and a number of academic law books. Among others his stay in Botswana also lead to a scholarly book on the  The Criminal Law of Botswana.

The expression "feel good" is often associated with somewhat superficial sentimentality.  But McCall Smith's writing makes you feel good without being either superficial or sickeningly sentimental. Like Mma Ramotswe, the books are made of the down-to-earth goodness of the African soil and simple meals and provide a bit of shade from the worst of the midday sun. 

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Still life with vases &  marbles

 Picture & text: © Lee Labuschagne - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


WEBSITE(s) OF THE DAY:
Want to order a book online?

You probably know at least two of these sites already, but here they are anyway: http://www.kalahari.net/, http://www.loot.co.za/  (both mainly useful for Southern African readers and then internationally http://barnesandnoble.com/ and the very popular  http://www.amazon.com/