Alexander McCall Smith

There’s the opportunity to meet bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, creator of the Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency books and one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors, at the Grand Theatre, Lancaster, on Tuesday 4th February.

The author event has been organised by the Kirkham-based SilverDell Bookshop and Lancaster Litfest, and ties in with the release of Alexander’s new novel, The Forever Girl, which will officially go on sale 11th February 2014 – but copies of the new book will be on sale at the event.

Edinburgh-based author Alexander McCall Smith is something of a national treasure.  His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor
of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and
abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time
to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books
translated into over forty languages and become bestsellers through the
world.

The series include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Sunday Philosophy Club series starring Isabel Dalhousie, the von Igelfeld series, and the new Corduroy Mansions novels.


The Forever Girl is a novel about love and following one’s heart, and the unexpected places to which this can lead us.

Amanda
and her husband, David, feel fortunate to be raising their son and daughter in the close-knit community of ex-pats on Grand Cayman Island,
an idyllic place for children to grow up. Their firstborn, Sally, has always listened to her heart, deciding at age four that she would rather
be called Clover and then, a few years later, falling in love with her best friend, James.

But the comforting embrace of island life can become claustrophobic for adults, especially when they are faced with difficult situations. At the same time that Clover falls in love
with James, Amanda realizes that she has fallen out of love with David… and that she is interested in someone else…

Through
the lives of Clover and James, and Amanda and David, acclaimed
storyteller Alexander  tells a tale full of love and
heartbreak, humor and melancholy, that beautifully demonstrates the
myriad ways in which love shapes our lives.

Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories,
academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received
numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards
Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in
2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and
North America.

SilverDell Bookshop and Lancaster Litfest presents Alexander McCall Smith: 7.00pm Tuesday 4th February, The Grand Theatre, Lancaster Tickets £5, fully redeemable against the purchase of the book on the night and are available from the box office 01524 64695

SilverDell Bookshop: www.silverdellbooks.com

• LitFest: www.litfest.org