Alexander McCall Smith is a Scottish author (though born in Rhodesia) of crime fiction and children’s books. He is the author of several series, including the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld Entertainment, Isabel Dalhousie, 44 Scotland Street and more. Aside from being a novelist, he also writes medical law and bioethics non-fiction books.

Though his non-fiction writings and children’s books date back to 1978, Alexander McCall Smith became a novelist when he published The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in 1999. Below is a list of all of McCall Smith’s fiction books in order of when they were originally published (which is also their chronological order):

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Publication Order of No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Books

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency(1998)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tears of the Giraffe(2000)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Morality for Beautiful Girls(2001)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Kalahari Typing School for Men(2002)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Full Cupboard of Life(2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies(2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blue Shoes and Happiness(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive(2007)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Miracle at Speedy Motors(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Double Comfort Safari Club(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious and Grace(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The House of Unexpected Sisters(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Colors of All the Cattle(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
To the Land of Long Lost Friends(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
How to Raise an Elephant(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Joy and Light Bus Company(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Song of Comfortable Chairs(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
From a Far and Lovely Country(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Collections

The Cleverness of Ladies(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld Books

Portuguese Irregular Verbs(2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs(2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances(2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Your Inner Hedgehog(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Isabel Dalhousie Books

The Sunday Philosophy Club(2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate(2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Right Attitude to Rain(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Careful Use of Compliments(2007)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday / The Comfort Of Saturdays(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Lost Art of Gratitude(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Charming Quirks of Others(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Forgotten Affairs of Youth(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Novel Habits of Happiness(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Distant View of Everything(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Quiet Side of Passion(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Geometry of Holding Hands(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Sweet Remnants of Summer(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Conditions of Unconditional Love(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Isabel Dalhousie Short Stories/Novellas

The Perils of Morning Coffee(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
At the Reunion Buffet(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of 44 Scotland Street Books

44 Scotland Street(2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Espresso Tales(2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Love Over Scotland(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The World According to Bertie(2007)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Importance of Being Seven(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bertie Plays the Blues(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Sunshine on Scotland Street(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Revolving Door of Life(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Bertie Project(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Time of Love and Tartan(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Peppermint Tea Chronicles(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Promise of Ankles(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Love in the Time of Bertie(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Enigma of Garlic(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Myths Books

Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Fire Gospel (By: Michel Faber)(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
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Publication Order of Corduroy Mansions Books

Corduroy Mansions(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Dog Who Came in from the Cold(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Conspiracy of Friends(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of The School Ship Tobermory Books

School Ship Tobermory(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Sands of Shark Island(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Race to Kangaroo Cliff(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Secret of the Dark Waterfall (With: Iain Mcintosh)(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of The Perfect Passion Company Books

Cook For Me(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Laborer in the Vineyard of Love(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Girl From Melbourne(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Paul Stuart Books

My Italian Bulldozer(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Second-Worst Restaurant in France(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Detective Varg Books

Varg in Love(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Department of Sensitive Crimes(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Talented Mr. Varg(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Man with the Silver Saab(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Detective Varg Short Stories/Novellas

The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Akimbo Books

(with LeUyen Pham)

Akimbo and the Lions(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Akimbo and the Crocodile Man(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Akimbo and the Elephants(2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Akimbo and the Snakes(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Akimbo and the Baboons(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Harriet Bean Books

The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Max & Maddy Books

Max & Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery(1997)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money Mystery(1999)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Precious Ramotswe's Very First Cases Books

The Great Cake Mystery(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious and the Monkeys(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious and the Zebra Necklace(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Young Corgi Books

Publication Order of The Big-Top Mysteries Books

The Big-Top Mysteries– The Case of the Vanishing Granny (With: Sam Usher)(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Uncle Gangster(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
La's Orchestra Saves the World(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Forever Girl(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Pavilion in the Clouds(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Perfect Passion Company(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Looking for You(2025)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Children's Books

White Hippo(1980)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Film Boy(1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Joke Machine(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Marzipan Max(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Girl Who Changed the Weather(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Calculator Annie(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Springy Jane(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Who Invented Peanut Butter?(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
My Chameleon Uncle(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Doughnut Ring(1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Princess Trick(1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Paddy and the Ratcatcher(1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Banana Machine(1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Billy Rubbish(1995)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Bubblegum Tree(1996)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Watermelon Boys(1996)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Popcorn Pirates(1999)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Monkey Boy(2000)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Teacher Trouble(2000)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Spaghetti Tangle(2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Muscle Machine(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Boing Boing(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Hari & His Electric Feet(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Max Champion and the Great Race Car Robbery(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Freddie Mole(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Great Clown Conundrum(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Children of Wax: African Folk Tales(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations(1995)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
"Trouble at the North Pole" and Other Stories(1996)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Perfect Hamburger and Other Delicious Stories(2001)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa(2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Baboons Who Went This Way and That: Folktales from Africa(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Book That Changed My Life(2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Trains and Lovers(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Chance Developments(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Pianos and Flowers(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Marvellous Mix-ups(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
In a Time of Distance and Other Poems(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tiny Tales: Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Private Life of Spies and the Exquisite Art of Getting Even(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Who Built Scotland (With: Kathleen Jamie,James Robertson,James Crawford,Alistair Moffat)(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Good Dog Lion (With: David Dean)(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer (With: Kate Hindley)(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Austen Project Books

Sense & Sensibility (By: Joanna Trollope)(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Northanger Abbey (By: Val McDermid)(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Emma(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Eligible (By: Curtis Sittenfeld)(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
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Publication Order of Mysterious Profiles Books

Rambo (By: David Morrell)(2022)
Info.
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (By: Robert Crais)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Jack Taylor (By: Ken Bruen)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Jack Reacher (By: Lee Child)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Charlie Parker (By: John Connolly)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Hieronymus Bosch (By: Michael Connelly)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Lincoln Rhyme (By: Jeffery Deaver)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Alex Delaware (By: Jonathan Kellerman)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tess Monaghan (By: Laura Lippman)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Charlie Resnick (By: John Harvey)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus (By: Faye Kellerman)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Inspector Morse (By: Colin Dexter)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dismas Hardy (By: John Lescroart)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bob Lee Swagger (By: Stephen Hunter)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Aloysius X. L. Pendergast (By: Douglas Preston)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Lou Boldt (By: Ridley Pearson)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spenser (By: Robert B. Parker)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt (By: Anne Perry)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
John Rebus (By: Ian Rankin)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Mallory (By: Carol O'Connell)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Jane Whitefield (By: Thomas Perry)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Ian Rutledge (By: Charles Todd)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Amos Walker (By: Loren D. Estleman)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Precious Ramotswe(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Maisie Dobbs (By: Jacqueline Winspear)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Lincoln Lawyer (By: Michael Connelly)(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Condor (By: James Grady)(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Ben Kincaid (By: William Bernhardt)(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Repairman Jack (By: F. Paul Wilson)(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Joe Pickett (By: C.J. Box)(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Peter Diamond (By: Peter Lovesey)(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Nathan Heller (By: Max Allan Collins)(2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
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Publication Order of Writers on Writers Books

Notes on Sontag (By: Phillip Lopate)(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Whitman (By: C.K. Williams)(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Conan Doyle (By: Michael Dirda)(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
What W. H. Auden Can Do for You(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Elizabeth Bishop (By: Colm Tóibín)(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Empson (By: Michael Wood)(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Henry Miller: Or, How to Be an Anarchist (By: John Burnside)(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
On Seamus Heaney (By: Roy Foster)(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
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Publication Order of Anthologies

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Notes: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies is also known as The Night-Time Dancer. The Great Cake Mystery was also published as Precious and the Puggies (Scots language version) and Precious and the Monkeys in English. The Comfort of Saturdays is the UK title of The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday. Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill was published in Scots as Precious and the Mischief at Meerkat Brae.

No Rest for the Dead is a collaborative novel that contains contributions from many different authors. Trouble At the North Pole and Other Stories also contains stories by Lisa Bruce, Berlie Doherty and Effin Older. One City is a collaboration with Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh.The Books That Changed My Life, Ox-Tales: Air, What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur and Imagined Lives: Portraits of Unknown People each contain contributions from many other authors. The non-fiction book Better Than Fiction is co-authored with Joyce Carol Oates and D.B.C. Pierre.

If You Like Alexander McCall Smith Books, You’ll Love…

Alexander McCall Smith Synopses: The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is a standalone novel by Alexander McCall Smith. During the war, Val Eliot, a young woman working on an English farm, meets Mike, a nearby U.S. Air Force pilot. Val realizes that Peter Woodhouse, a Border Collie, would actually be safer with Mike when she rescues him from his abusive owner. Thus, Peter Woodhouse moves into a new residence on the air force base, and Val falls in love. Val becomes Mike’s fiancée, and Peter Woodhouse transforms into Dog First Class, the base’s canine mascot who bravely accompany the officers on their missions. Peter Woodhouse brings Ubi, a German corporal, into their orbit after a disaster jeopardizes their future, igniting a friendship that is fraught with danger but rich in rewards.

Hari and His Electric Feet is a children’s novel by Alexander McCall Smith. Hari is a dreamer who can do something unusual. He uses the few dollars he makes from washing cars to go to the movies to see and learn from his favorite Bollywood films. Then, one day, Mr. Ram, a man on a mission to settle disputes both near and far, spots Hari’s gloriously fancy footwork. Because Hari’s magical dancing has such an effect on everyone, he is soon invited to the White House, where his electric feet bring peace to the president and his family.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith is a standalone title. The close-knit expat community on Grand Cayman Island, an idyllic place for children to grow up, is where Amanda and her husband David are raising their son and daughter, and they consider themselves fortunate to be there. Sally, their first child, has always followed her heart. When she was four years old, she decided she preferred to be called Clover and then fell in love with James, her best friend.

However, for adults, the reassuring embrace of island life can become confined, particularly when confronted with challenging circumstances. Amanda realizes that she is no longer in love with David at the same time that Clover falls in love with James and that she is attracted to someone else. Clover discovers, to her dismay, that James appears to be moving away from her as Amanda tries to navigate the new path her heart is leading her down. She also feels like she might have lost him for good when they leave the island for boarding school—James goes to England, Clover goes to Scotland. She finds herself torn between a desire to move forward with her life and the old feelings that she just can’t let go of as Clover moves on to university, rarely seeing James but always holding him in her heart.

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4 Responses to “Order of Alexander McCall Smith Books”

  1. maryanna mayer: 9 months ago

    First discovered the books about Botswana ! ! ! several others and THEN the Isabel Dalhousie series . Always thought I was a fast reader, but Alexander McCall Smith can write faster than I can read . Full of life & goodness ….mostly.

    Reply

  2. Alan Andrews: 4 years ago

    Love McAll Smith’s books. Will another “#1 Ladies” volume be released soon? God, I hope so.

    Reply

  3. Norma Lyle: 4 years ago

    I love Precious Ramotswe and her family and friends. Thank you Alexander McCall Smith for creating this enjoyable world to share with us, your public.

    Reply

  4. 'grandma' Jeanne: 8 years ago

    I have just discovered Alexander McCall Smith’s books. Someone left three paperbacks at the women’s locker room at the Y. I have been hooked ever since. I spend much of my free time reading about Precious and her life.
    What a great author..so sensitive and insightful into people and the sweet, gentle people of Africa…Botswana to be specific.
    I thank him and recommend his books.

    Reply

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