No. 1 Ladies' Detective
4 total works
Mma Ramotswe is asked to help the proprietor of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, who is having trouble with her business. The salon has suffered some unfortunate events, including face cream that burns the skin. Could someone be trying to put the salon out of business? Meanwhile, on the home front, Mma Makutsi is going to have a baby. But in Botswana-- a land where family has always been held above all else but which is on the crossroads between old and new-- this may be cause for as much controversy as celebration.
As the countdown to Mma Makutsi's wedding begins, all is not as it should be at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. While investigating unpleasant occurrences on a southern cattle-post, Mma Ramotswe, always on the side of the weak against the strong, has reason to reflect on Rule No.3 of The Principles of Private Detection: never lie to the client. Apprentice mechanic Charlie seems to be avoiding certain important responsibilities. And as Mma Makutsi's big day approaches, her nemesis Violet Sephotho is casting her net wider: by standing for election which could spell trouble for the entire nation. But as friends and family gather under starry African night skies, it turns out that even the most perplexing of apparitions - and the most shocking of crimes - may yield to rational explanation. And, of course, to Mma Ramotswe's inimitable way with love, intuition and redbush tea.
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have always relied on the advice of the classic guide to their trade, The Principles of Private Detection. But who is the eminent author, Mr Clovis Andersen, and what if he were to come to Botswana? That seems a very unlikely possibility, and yet ...When Mr Andersen visits Botswana on holiday, he is delighted and intrigued to stumble across a roadside sign that reveals the existence of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Professional courtesy suggests that he call and announce himself. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti are embarking on married life and building a new house - a tricky business under any circumstances but especially hazardous when the name of the contractor is the Joy and Light Building Company.
'The Kalaharl Typing School for Men' is the fourth novel in the widely acclaimed No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Following on from 'Morallty for Beautiful Girls' we find Precious Ramotswe, the founder of Botswana's only detective agency now running her business from the garage of her fiance, that most gracious of men, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. Having recovered from his illness, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is back at the helm of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, and plans for the couple's wedding need to be made. But when, If ever, will they wed? Intriguing cases present themselves and Mma Ramotswe juggles new clients with her usual formidable talent, but things become unusually complicated when her first-class assistant Mma Makutsi decides to expand the agency by opening a much-needed typing school for men. Amongst her puplis Mma Makutsl finds an admirer, but Mma Ramotswe, knowing how men are, decides to dig deeper. Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack's company Mirage will be co-producing The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency TV series with New Africa Media Films.
'I was enchanted by the character of Precious Ramotswe and the sly humour of Alexander McCall Smith's writing, his deft evocation of a culture.' Anthony Minghella 'The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency' received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations in 1999 and was voted one of the 'International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement. 'Tears of the Giraffe' was selected as one of The Guardian's top ten Fiction paperbacks of the Year, 2000. 'The most entertaining read of the year.' The Guardian 'The author's prose has the merits of simplicity, euphony and precision. His descriptions leave one as if standing in the Botswanan landscape. This is art that conceals art. I haven't read anything with such unalloyed pleasure for a long time.' Anthony Daniels, The Sunday Telegraph 'It is not difficult to see why the director of 'The English Patient' and 'The Talented Mr Ripley', Anthony Minghella was so keen to produce the television series of these books in Africa. Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted, he is a natural storyteller. Smith has once again charmed the sarongs off of us.' The List
'I was enchanted by the character of Precious Ramotswe and the sly humour of Alexander McCall Smith's writing, his deft evocation of a culture.' Anthony Minghella 'The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency' received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations in 1999 and was voted one of the 'International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement. 'Tears of the Giraffe' was selected as one of The Guardian's top ten Fiction paperbacks of the Year, 2000. 'The most entertaining read of the year.' The Guardian 'The author's prose has the merits of simplicity, euphony and precision. His descriptions leave one as if standing in the Botswanan landscape. This is art that conceals art. I haven't read anything with such unalloyed pleasure for a long time.' Anthony Daniels, The Sunday Telegraph 'It is not difficult to see why the director of 'The English Patient' and 'The Talented Mr Ripley', Anthony Minghella was so keen to produce the television series of these books in Africa. Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted, he is a natural storyteller. Smith has once again charmed the sarongs off of us.' The List