Summary

Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2004.
Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, 2004. First published in 110 episodes in The Scotsman newspaper, 44 Scotland Street revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in the author's home city of Edinburgh.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. We immediately recognise 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 5-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.
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.
Click here to see all the titles in our Alexander McCall Smith collection.
©2005 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2005 Time Warner AudioBooks
Show More Show Less

Critic reviews

"Readers needn't possess plaid clothes or a brogue to savor this wise, witty send-up of Edinburgh rogues." ( Booklist)
"The possibility of romance, the ongoing ups and downs of the large, well-drawn cast of characters, the intricate plot, and the way Smith nimbly jumps from situation to situation and POV to POV...works beautifully." ( Publishers Weekly)
Show More Show Less

Regular price: £10.49

Membership details Membership details
  • A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook, free
  • 1 credit/month after trial – choose any book, any price
  • Easy exchanges – swap any book you don’t love
  • Keep your audiobooks, even if you cancel
  • Free, unlimited access to Audio Shows
  • After your trial, Audible is just £7.99/month
Buy Now for £10.49
Select or Add a new payment method

Buy Now with 1 Credit

By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Buy Now for £10.49

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

People who bought this also bought...

Audible.co.uk reviews
Audible.com reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By Mrs Bridget Bateson on 06-04-18

44 Scotland Street was well read

Disappointing finish to this story. It seemed to end abruptly mid tale. Is there another part to this story? Well read thank you

Read more Hide me
5 out of 5 stars
By Dee Murray on 16-06-17

Beautiful narration

I thoroughly enjoyed this book not least because of the narrator. She captures the Edinburgh accents perfectly (to my Glaswegian ears at least). As Domenica she sounds like a neighbour who is from Edinburgh. The book is about a close in Edinburgh and the people who live there. Some you will love, some you will like well enough and one, maybe two, you will not like at all. Poor Bertie. I don't usually listen to abridged books but didn't feel anything lacking. I had a look to see if Blythe Duff had recorded anything else but, sadly, there's nothing in the Audible library. I hope she does more soon. I recommend this book.

Read more Hide me
See all reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By Eleanor on 02-05-11

Charming and wittily observed novel.

Charming and wittily observed novel....revealing of human nature and Edinburgh itself. Must now read all the series. Blythe Duff read superbly - nothing against David Rintoul, but I do wish Duff had read them all.

Read more Hide me

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Donn Edwards on 22-11-09

Charming, entertaining, a great listen

I was given the second book, "Espresso Tales" on CD, and enjoyed the first CD enough to want to listen to the entire series.

Blythe Duff does a wonderful job of bringing these interesting characters to life, and their individual stories and incidents make for a wonderful tapestry of life. They do not seem to be contrived or artificial, which makes the book both plausible and entertaining.

I can see myself listening to the entire series. The setting is very different to Mma Ramotswe in Botswana, but the storytelling and attention to character detail is just as good as the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Read more Hide me

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

See all reviews