44 Scotland Street

Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith

It was a chance encounter with Armistead Maupin (of Tales of the City fame) in San Francisco which inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write his serial novel about the residents of 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in the author’s home town of Edinburgh.
44 Scotland Street

With its multiple-occupancy flats, 44 Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the city; a very Edinburgh mix of Bohemians, haute bourgeoisie, students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia. 44 Scotland Street first appeared in daily episodes in The Scotsman newspaper in 2004, and was published in book form later that year by Polygon with great success.

The adventures of Bertie the child prodigy, Cyril the dog with the gold tooth, and raffish painter Angus Lordie became an instant hit and a further six series and book publications followed. A seventh series ran in the Scotsman earlier this year and is now avaliable in book form as Bertie Plays the Blues.

Available in hardback from Polygon …