An Interview with the author
THE AUTHOR of one of the world's most successful series of novels has taken time out of his hectic schedule to speak to the Comet.
While sitting in his hotel suite in California, Alexander McCall Smith, 59, author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, spoke to reporter Jo Jarvis about One Book for Stevenage - a reading project which was launched in Stevenage today (Friday 25th April).
The annual project which is supported by Stevenage-based best-selling novelist Ken Follett, is designed to encourage people to delve into the same book and this year Mr McCall Smith's book has been chosen.
He said: "I'm very honoured and delighted. One Book is a great idea because it brings people together - if people read the same book they have something to share."
The book which has sold 15 million copies worldwide is the first novel in a series of nine novels which centres around an agency located in modern-day Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. It chronicles the adventures of Mma Precious Ramotswe, the founder of the agency and the country's first female detective.
Mr McCall Smith who grew up in Africa as a child, said: "I never expected it to take off in the way it has. I only intended to write one book because I didn't expect many people to read it but the first edition sold around 1,500 copies. So after speaking to my publishers I decided to write a second one soon after.
'I initially wanted to paint a picture of an interesting country - Botswana and the idea of someone having a detective agency is a useful tool to have something to say about society. It's a good literary device because all sorts of things can happen."
Ten years after its first publication and Mma Ramotswe is a global character.
Mr McCall Smith who now lives in Edinburgh with his family, continued: “I had not expected a traditionally built lady to speak to quite so many people but she did.
"It's the most successful book I have written and I think this because people like the character of Mma Ramotswe and like talking to her. People find her sympathetic and kind.
'There is no real person on whom I have based these books, but there are many women in Botswana who are very much like her - tolerant, kind and possessed of a dignity that defies cynicism.
'I think that people throughout the world want to believe in such a person. Our age has a violent face; we feel the need of somebody like Mma Ramotswe who offers forgiveness rather than confrontation and recrimination. Such people are there, we need only give them the space to breathe, the chance to talk to us.'
The Rhodesian born author who celebrated the publication of the ninth book in the series - The Miracle at Speedy Motors - in March, said this book does not mark the end of the volume.
He said: "Since the first book, there have been a lot of interesting developments and I have been pleased with the way it's panned out because you get to know a lot more about Mma Ramotswe. And I intend to keep going until I think it's time to stop."
FACT FILE
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
It has been translated into 42 foreign languages
The author has written more than 60 books
He received a CBE in 2007 for service to literature