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44 Scotland Street cover art

44 Scotland Street

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by: Hilary Neville
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Summary

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

What listeners say about 44 Scotland Street

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accents

would have liked to have listened to the story bring told in a scottish accent

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A gentle read full of delicious humour

A great book if you are looking for a gentle read. The book is full of interesting characters, subtly and amusingly portrayed - with hints of the completely absurd, which just add to the fun. I can't wait to read/listen to the next one!

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8 people found this helpful

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Great observations beautifully weaved into fun stories

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!

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Edimbourgoisie tenderly mocked.

I haven't much time for his African novels, but I consider Edinburgh my home, though I only lived there for nine years, medical school and early work life.
I adore these well observed loving satires on middle class Edinburgh mœurs. I recognise these characters, and even, to some extent, myself.
A few years of my Edinburgh life were lived just round the corner from Scotland Street (and, therefore close to Ian Rankin's Rebus base in Gayfield Square: the shadow side of our glorious capital)
That's Edinburgh for you - the Enlightenment, David Hume, Adam Smith, James Boswell ad infinitum.., but still annoyed at being the youngest of the four universities, until 1960s created new ones, allowing us to think that 1583 wasn't so parvenu!
It's also the city of Burke & Hare, Deacon Brodie (respectable by day, burglar by night) Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, of Sherlock Holmes' creator.
London's too big to be so magical, so individual, so European, both inward looking and forward looking.
When I die, I hope that Heaven will be a lot like Edinburgh except maybe a wee bit warmer - I may have to do time in Purgatory (Glasgow) first. ( Apologies, I know some folk who like Glasgow.)

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5 people found this helpful

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Even Better than book.

Wonderfully quirky tale of everyday life in Edinburgh with remarkably well-drawn characters and fine narrating.

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3 people found this helpful

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Really wanted this to be good but….

Nothing at all like the No 1 Detective Agency. This is a collection of characters in Edinburgh. Wish more could have been made of each character but frankly, it doesn’t make for entertaining reading and I was glad to finish it (it doesn’t even finish satisfactorily). Found out afterwards that it was a collection of short chapters published in a newspaper which explains a lot. What a disappointment! Doesn’t make me want to go back to Edinburgh at all! Some light moments but what could have been a great story interweaving all the characters, just runs dry and painfully dour.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Quirky perfect portrait of Edinburgh characters shame the narrative was English.

What a shame the narrator read so much in an English accent. I think l will read the next one not listen to it on audio.

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2 people found this helpful

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Rambles a bit with an unbelievable rushed ending.

No real thread or aim to the story. Tends to go off in annoying tangents and description and name dropping.. Author has no concept of how younger intelligent women feel. Bit too much mansplaining. An utterly unbelievable ending

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great amusing listen

Absolutely brilliant portrayal of Edinburgh society. Kept me laughing with its insight of the folk of the city.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Unimpressed

i tried this because I love No 1 detective agency series. Poor in comparison.
Reader good though.

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1 person found this helpful