A Promise of Ankles
A 44 Scotland Street Novel
by Alexander McCall Smith
£17.99
1857 in stock
Fiction
Reviews
The spell this volume casts is as strong as ever, I am already longing for volume 15 ... There is a ribbon of humour running throughout and the characters are varied, memorable and very well drawn but I think it is Alexander McCall Smith’s voice, so full of warmth and kindness and love of Edinburgh and its people which gives these stories their unique flavour'
The Cultural Voyager
With its vividly surreal cast of outlandish characters - including 'aphorism coining socialite nun' Sister Maria, and 'chino-wearing narcissist'’ Bruce - and McCall Smith’s wonderfully wry delivery, A Promise of Ankles will not disappoint'
Scottish Field
Once again, old friends are met, time moves steadily on and we all gain a little wisdom as the Promise of Ankles unfolds, gently, seamlessly and in a most elegantly enjoyable fashion, courtesy of the master of words Alexander McCall Smith. Perfect summer reading.'
Blue Wolf Reviews
Sumptuous, fun, witty, cleverly constructed and highly entertaining. Just what the doctor ordered in these hard times'
SixtyPlusSurfers
About the Book
At the bottom of a sharply descending street – in the topographical sense – in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, new residents have moved in to number 44 Scotland Street, joining the already well-known and much-loved denizens of that remarkable building. They appear to be a bit of a mystery, but so, too, do other things. What exactly did Sister Maria-Fiore, the aphorism-coining socialite nun, find on the No. 23 bus? Could it be the remains of a hitherto unknown Neanderthal, homo Watsoniensis?
On the romantic front, long-suffering Stuart’s hopes of kindling a new relationship are dashed, thanks to chino-wearing narcissist Bruce, effortlessly exercising his powers of charm. The Promised Land beckons for Bertie who is off to Glasgow for a school exchange that takes him doon the watter. Back in Edinburgh, the Duke of Johannesburg’s desire to learn a new language, involving his Gaelic-speaking driver Padruig, has gone horribly wrong; to be immersed in a language, it seems, can be a captivating linguistic mistake. And the patrons of Big Lou’s cafe are in for a gastronomic treat. In other words, everything in Edinburgh is absolutely normal.
The Author
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.You may also like…
-
Hardback | Pub: 13 Aug 2020£9.99Stories do not have to be long. In the space of a couple of sentences – or even a page or two – we may see the human heart exposed in a way that is more powerful than occurs in many much longer narratives. In Tiny Tales Alexander McCall Smith...
-
Paperback | Pub: 23 Apr 2020£9.99A poem does not have to be famous to be cherished. The best-known poems of Robert Burns have been loved by countless people over the years, but there are other poems that may be largely unknown that will mean a great deal to the few who are familiar...
-
Hardback | Pub: 07 Nov 2019£12.99In Pianos and Flowers we are invited, through the medium of sepia images, to glimpse a world long departed. In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer....
