44 Scotland Street cover art

44 Scotland Street

44 Scotland Street, Book 1

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

The story revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in Edinburgh. Immediately recognisable are 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 five-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. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy. 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. Clever, elegant and funny, this is a novel that provides huge entertainment but which is underpinned by the moral dilemmas of everyday life and the characters' struggles to resolve them.

©2005 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2011 Hachette Digital Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Urban Scotland Funny
All stars
Most relevant
Wonderfully quirky tale of everyday life in Edinburgh with remarkably well-drawn characters and fine narrating.

Even Better than book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was unsure whether I would like this after reading the other reviews, which are pretty mixed. I was so pleasantly surprised, Alexander McCall Smith has created a world in which the reader/ listener can get totally immersed. The wonderful cast of characters and their day to day triumphs and tribulations, make for compelling listening.
This is definitely a character rather than a plot driven work, but it is certainly not dull! Very well narrated, funny and poignant; I highly recommend this audiobook.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
i have highland terrier who as a better scotts accent. still i do have the privilege of being married to a highland lass for 52 years.

will help you sleep

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fine characterisation by Hilary Neville helps make this a very pleasing and entertaining audio book, with a varied and interesting cast of individuals.

Gentle and entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Modern classic! Gentle, whimsical and very compelling. Such a fun book full of great observations! Really liked the narrator, the voice can make it break the book but Hillary was an excellent choice. Loved no1 ladies detective agency and think I'm going to love this series just as much, have ordered the next one already!

Great observations beautifully weaved into fun stories

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews