Date Published: 8th February 2018

A new cover has been revealed for a 20th Anniversary Edition of  Alexander McCall Smith’s The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency — one of the world’s favourite novels.

First published in the summer of 1998, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has been in print ever since and now has a striking new cover to mark the 20th Anniversary. Over the years, this delightful and influential novel, has been made into a TV film and series, a musical is under consideration, and plays based on the book and written by Alexander now form the longest running returning serial on BBC Radio 4. The book is published in 46 languages around the globe and Alexander is much in demand by the audiences of book festivals the world over. Total sales of all of his books have now reached 30 million plus.

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has appeared in many editions over the years. Here are just a few of them:

‘Blake may have been able to see the world in a grain of sand, but McCall Smith can encapsulate the human condition in a plate of stewed pumpkin. His talent is to see the good in small things’—The Sunday Times

‘There are some great books that this guy called Alexander McCall Smith put out that take place in Botswana… The first one is called The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. I highly recommend them if you like to be happy’—Flea, from Red Hot Chilli Peppers

‘…In the world of Sandy McCall Smith, the sheer enjoyment of life ranks high’—The Times

‘Tolerance and humanity underpin the whole of this wonderful, hilarious, totally addictive series’—Daily Mail

‘Enchanting … An inspiration to us all … The sweet, chuckling voice of Precious Ramotswe falls gentle on the ear’ – The New York Times Book Review

‘The beauty of the land, the people, the colours and smells leap off the page with such warm-hearted liveliness that you find yourself laughing and crying instead of, as so often, hardening your heart against the seeming hopelessness of an entire continent. For an author to entertain and instruct with such effortless simplicity is one thing, but to achieve this effect upon readers is remarkable. I can think of no author save Dickens who has achieved it, and no author now writing currently more deserving of an enormous audience’—The New Statesman

 ‘…written with grace and charm…. But it is also strengthened by a new gravity: the message that Western nations – which tend to regard Africa as a hopeless mess – have in fact much to learn from Botswana … The “holding of hands, human hand in human hand”, urges McCall Smith, “could help, could make the world seem less broken”.’ —The Independent

‘these gentle stories of manners and morality have a clarity that is surely one of the reasons for their widespread appeal’—The Scotsman

 ‘…gentle humour, eccentric characters and pearls of homespun wisdom from one of our favourite storytellers’—Good Housekeeping

‘I haven’t read anything with such alloyed pleasure for a long time’— The Sunday Telegraph