Alexander McCall Smith books in order
British writer
- Born
- 1948
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 134
- Series
- 5
Alexander McCall Smith has published 80 novels, 5 novellas, 8 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book, 32 children's books and 8 other books, beginning with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998). The 5 series include The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (27 books, starting with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency), Isabel Dalhousie (18 books, starting with The Sunday Philosophy Club) and 44 Scotland Street (16 books, starting with 44 Scotland Street). The latest is The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee (2024).
Updated September 2026
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books in order (27)Series page
Reading order: 1 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) · 2 Tears of the Giraffe (2000) · 3 Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001) · 4 The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002) · 5 The Full Cupboard of Life (2003) · 6 In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004) · 7 Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006) · 8 The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007) · 9 The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008) · 10 Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009) · … all 27 below
- 1.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998)
- 2.
Tears of the Giraffe (2000)
- 3.
Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)
- 4.
The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002)
- 5.
The Full Cupboard of Life (2003)
- 6.
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004)
- 7.
Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006)
- 8.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007)
- 9.
The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)
- 10.
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
- 11.
The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
- 12.
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (2011)
- 13.
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (Apr 2012)
- 14.
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (Oct 2013)
- 15.
The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe (2014)
- 16.
The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine (2015)
- 17.
Precious and Grace (May 2017)
- 18.
The House of Unexpected Sisters (2017)
- 19.
Colours of All the Cattle (2018)
- 20.
To the Land of Long Lost Friends (Sep 2019)
- 21.
How to Raise an Elephant (Sep 2020)
- 22.
The Joy and Light Bus Company (2021)
- 23.
Song of Comfortable Chairs (2022)
- 24.
From a Far and Lovely Country (2023)
- 25.
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel
- 26.
In the Time of Five Pumpkins
- 27.
The Big Cats Dance Party
Isabel Dalhousie books in order (18)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Sunday Philosophy Club (2004) · 2 Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (2005) · 3 The Right Attitude to Rain (2006) · 4 The Careful Use of Compliments (2007) · 5 The Comfort of Saturdays (2008) · 6 The Lost Art of Gratitude (2009) · 7 The Charming Quirks of Others (2007) · 8 The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (2011) · 9 The Perils of Morning Coffee (2011) · 10 The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (2012) · … all 18 below
- 1.
The Sunday Philosophy Club (Sep 2004)
- 2.
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (Sep 2005)
- 3.
The Right Attitude to Rain (Sep 2006)
- 4.
The Careful Use of Compliments (Aug 2007)
- 5.
The Comfort of Saturdays (Oct 2008)
- 6.
The Lost Art of Gratitude (Sep 2009)
- 7.
The Charming Quirks of Others (Aug 2007)
- 8.
The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (2011)
- 9.
The Perils of Morning Coffee (2011)
- 10.
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (2012)
- 11.
The Novel Habits of Happiness (2015)
- 12.
At the Reunion Buffet
- 13.
Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine (2016)
- 14.
A Distant View of Everything (2017)
- 15.
The Quiet Side of Passion (2018)
- 16.
The Geometry of Holding Hands (2020)
- 17.
Sweet Remnants of Summer (2022)
- 18.
The Conditions of Unconditional Love
44 Scotland Street books in order (16)Series page
Reading order: 1 44 Scotland Street (2005) · 2 Espresso Tales (2004) · 3 The World According to Bertie (2007) · 4 The Unbearable Lightness of Scones (2008) · 5 The Importance of Being Seven · 6 Bertie Plays the Blues (2011) · 7 Sunshine on Scotland Street (2012) · 8 Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers (2013) · 9 The Revolving Door of Life (2015) · 10 The Bertie Project (2016) · … all 16 below
- 1.
44 Scotland Street (2005)
- 2.
Espresso Tales (2004), also published as Love Over Scotland
- 3.
The World According to Bertie (2007)
- 4.
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones (2008)
- 5.
The Importance of Being Seven
- 6.
Bertie Plays the Blues (2011), also published as The Importance of
- 7.
Sunshine on Scotland Street (2012)
- 8.
Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers (2013)
- 9.
The Revolving Door of Life (2015)
- 10.
The Bertie Project (2016)
- 11.
A Time of Love and Tartan (2017)
- 12.
The Peppermint Tea Chronicles (2019)
- 13.
A Promise of Ankles (2020)
- 14.
Love in the Time of Bertie (2022)
- 15.
The Enigma of Garlic (2023)
- 16.
The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee (2024)
Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments books in order (5)Series page
Reading order: 1 Portuguese Irregular Verbs (1997) · 2 The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (2003) · 3 Unusual Uses for Olive Oil (2011) · 4 Your Inner Hedgehog (2021) · 5 The Lost Language of Oysters
- 1.
Portuguese Irregular Verbs (1997)
- 2.
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (2003)
- 3.
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil (2011)
- 4.
Your Inner Hedgehog (2021)
- 5.
The Lost Language of Oysters
Precious Ramotswe books in order (3)Series page
Reading order: 1 Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill (2012) · 2 Precious And The Mystery Of The Missing Lion (2013) · 3 Precious and the Zebra Necklace (2015)
- 1.
Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill (2012)
- 2.
Precious And The Mystery Of The Missing Lion (2013)
- 3.
Precious and the Zebra Necklace (2015)
Where to start with Alexander McCall Smith
Start here
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith's most-read book and the first of the 27 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books.
Newest
The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee
Published 2024.
Standalone novels in order
The Duty to Rescue (1993)
Forensic Aspects of Sleep (1997)
The Girl Who Married a Lion (2004)
Dream Angus (2006)
La's Orchestra Saves the World (2008)
Corduroy Mansions (Aug 2009)
The Dog Who Came in from the Cold (Aug 2010)
A Conspiracy of Friends (May 2011)
Escape from Furnace 03 Death Sentence (2012)
Trains and Lovers (2012)
Emma (2014)
Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party (2014)
The Forever Girl (2014)
My Italian Bulldozer (2016)
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse (2017)
Pianos and Flowers (2019)
Second Worst Restaurant in France (2019)
The Department of Sensitive Crimes (2019)
The Talented Mr. Varg (2020)
Man in the Silver Saab (2021)
Private Life of Spies and the Exquisite Art of Getting Even (2023)
Novellas in order
Film Boy (1988)
Marzipan Max (1991)
Akimbo and the Baboons (2008)
Short story collections in order
At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances (2003)
Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations (2003)
African Folk Tales (2005)
Folk Tales from Africa (African Folk Tales) (2006)
The Cleverness Of Ladies (2012)
Chance Developments (2015)
Tiny Tales (2020)
Non-fiction in order
What W. H. Auden Can Do for You (2013)
Children's books in order
The Perfect Hamburger (1984)
Uncle Gangster (1989)
The Ice-Cream Bicycle (1990)
The Joke Machine (1990)
The Spaghetti Tangle (1991)
Akimbo and the Lions (Akimbo) (1992)
Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats (1992)
Springy Jane (1992)
The Doughnut Ring (1992)
Akimbo and the Crocodile Man (1993)
The Muscle Machine (1993)
Who Invented Peanut Butter? (1993)
Teacher Trouble (1994)
The Banana Machine (1994)
Billy Rubbish (1995)
Chocolate Money Mystery (1997)
Max and Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery (1997)
The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean (1997)
The Popcorn Pirates (1999)
Akimbo and the Elephants (Akimbo) (2005)
Akimbo and the Snakes (2006)
Calculator Annie (2006)
The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean (2006)
Precious and the Monkeys (2011)
The Great Cake Mystery (2012)
Akimbo Adventures (2013)
School Ship Tobermory (2015)
Marvellous Mix-ups (2016)
Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer (2017)
Other books in order
Children of Wax (1989)
Young Precious (2021)
I Think of You (2023)
Nuns and Spies (2023)
About Alexander McCall Smith
Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith is a Rhodesian/Zimbabwean-Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was born and raised in Southern Rhodesia and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an expert on medical law and bioethics and served on related British and international committees. He has since become known as a fiction writer, with sales in English exceeding 40 million by 2010 and translations into 46 languages. He is known as the creator of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Alexander McCall Smith FAQ
- How many books has Alexander McCall Smith written?
- Alexander McCall Smith has published 80 novels, 5 novellas, 8 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book, 32 children's books and 8 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Alexander McCall Smith's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Isabel Dalhousie with The Sunday Philosophy Club and 44 Scotland Street with 44 Scotland Street. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Alexander McCall Smith's latest book?
- The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee (2024).
- What is Alexander McCall Smith's most famous book?
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) is Alexander McCall Smith's most widely read book.
- Are Alexander McCall Smith's books connected?
- 69 books belong to 5 series (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Isabel Dalhousie, 44 Scotland Street and Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments); the other 65 books stand alone.
Authors like Alexander McCall Smith
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.