Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith (born in Bulawayo in 1948) is a British writer of Rhodesian birth, best known for his detective novels set in Botswana. Before turning to fiction he was a law professor and a respected expert in medical law and bioethics. He is notable for combining a rigorous academic career with warm, widely read storytelling that has been translated into many languages.

He was born in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and studied law at the University of Edinburgh, where he earned his degrees. He went on to teach at Queen's University Belfast and returned to southern Africa in 1981 to help set up the law school at the University of Botswana. Later he became Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh and served on British and international ethics committees, roles he gave up once his writing career took off.

In 1998 he published The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, featuring Precious Ramotswe in Gaborone, which grew into a long-running series. Before that he had written around thirty books, mostly for children. His novels have a gentle, unhurried tone and deal with honesty, friendship and everyday life. He has also set series in Edinburgh, including the philosophy club novels and 44 Scotland Street.

His legacy is twofold. He has brought the life of Botswana and of Edinburgh to a wide readership, and his fiction keeps the concern with ethics that shaped his academic work. He has received official recognition in the United Kingdom, and his books are read in dozens of languages.