The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

New Mma Ramotswe Podcast launched

Date Published: 14th September 2023

Have you ever wanted to know more about Mma Ramotswe’s Botswana? Delve into this exciting new podcast and explore the world of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective, her friends, and her important places. As you listen to the episodes you will be transported between McCall Smith’s fictional world and the true Botswana. You will meet […]

No.1 is No. 2 of films to revisit

Date Published: 18th March 2023

Movieweb has charted the HBO/BBC film of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency at number 2 in their Top 13 Lesser Known HBO Series That Are Worth Revisiting: ‘Step into the colourful world of Botswana with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Based on Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling series of novels, this delightful show follows the adventures […]

Coming up in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Date Published: 13th March 2023

Alexander McCall Smith is travelling in Australia at present, touring literary festivals and doing the full round of media interviews. As he travels he is writing, and now he can reveal what is coming up in the next book in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, From a Far and Lovely Country. Pop the kettle on […]

The World is Full of Suffering

Date Published: 10th March 2022

The World is full of suffering: I am writing this on Sunday evening, after a day of sun here in Edinburgh. Spring is knocking on the door – just – although the air is still a bit cold. This afternoon at three o’clock, I wrote the final sentence of the new No 1 Ladies’ Detective […]

A Little Elephant Doing Rather Well (Thanks to You!)

Date Published: 19th May 2021

Last year, we reported on a tiny little elephant rescued by Elephant Havens. They gave the young calf the name ‘Sandy’ and started a dialogue with our own Alexander (‘Sandy’ for short) and with many of you, his readers. Alexander was moved by their wonderful work which found its way into the novel, How to […]

‘Millions of readers globally have Botswana tucked into their hearts and their minds’

Date Published: 9th October 2020

‘Through your efforts Alexander, millions of readers globally have Botswana tucked into their hearts and their minds‘ – Bogolo Kenewendo, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Botswana ‘You have packaged the good news that is Botswana and presented it to the world‘ – Bame Moremong, Executive Director of Brand Botswana Alexander was overwhelmed by the warmth of […]

A Crime Reader’s Guide to the Classics

Date Published: 15th September 2020

Enjoy a Crime Reader’s Guide to The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series – quotes and insights and all the joy of Botswana and Precious Ramotswe. One not to be missed whether you are new to the series or have read every one of these books. The twenty-first book in this series, How to Raise an Elephant, is […]

To the Land of Long Lost Friends – Now Available in Paperback

Date Published: 1st September 2020

In To The Land of Long Lost Friends, the latest book in the widely beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe takes on a case for a childhood acquaintance and finds that family relationships are always a tricky proposition—even for Botswana’s premier female detective. Don’t miss TO THE LAND OF LONG LOST FRIENDS. Now in […]

A Story for September – No Double Bed

No Double Bed is an exclusive extract from the forthcoming book, ‘How to Raise an Elephant’, the twenty-first volume in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. How to Raise an Elephant will be published in November 2020. 

Celebrate with us! The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – 20 years of humanity, kindness, humour, forgiveness and sheer joy

Date Published: 2nd April 2018

A very good reason to celebrate: 2018 is the twentieth anniversary of publication of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith—20 years of delightfully different books, page-after-page of humanity, kindness, humour and forgiveness, and in short, sheer joy. The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series started life as a short story written for friends but took hold […]