Escape the sofa and travel the globe with Alexander McCall Smith. Join the master storyteller as he transports you to Germany for the long-awaited return of the hilariously hapless Prof Dr Dr Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld, then jet to Sweden to hear about the latest installment in the Detective Varg mysteries, finishing with a round-the-world tour through poetry as Alexander’s latest collection takes you from Greece to Africa, London to Mumbai, and of course, Edinburgh.
Your Inner Hedgehog is the latest entertaining and hilarious Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld novel. Our hopelessly out-of-touch hero is forced to confront uppity librarians, the rector of the university and a possible hostile takeover, all while trying to remain studiously above it all.
Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and his colleagues at the University of Regensburg’s Institute of Romance Philology pride themselves on their unwavering commitment to intellectual excellence. They know it is their job to protect a certain civilized approach to the scholarly arts. So when a new deputy librarian, Dr. Hilda Schreiber-Ziegler, threatens to drag them all down a path of progressive inclusivity, they are determined to stop her in the name of scholarship – even if that requires von Igelfeld to make the noble sacrifice of running for director of the Institute. Alas, politics is never easy, and in order to put his best foot forward, von Igelfeld will be required to take up a visiting fellowship at Oxford and cultivate the attentions of a rather effusive young American scholar. Still, von Igelfeld has always heeded the clarion call of duty, especially when it comes with a larger office.
In a Time of Distance and Other Poems is Alexander McCall Smith’s first collection of poetry.
What really counts in this life? For the writer, Alexander McCall Smith, it is friendship and love – themes that crop up time and again in his novels. And it is these themes that he explores in this collection of poems.
In this book, divided into nine sections, the author takes you on a journey across the globe from Africa to Greece, London to Mumbai, and back home to Edinburgh. In a Time of Distance is a captivating celebration of place and people, but also of animals and books. Looking at the world through the lens of this writer it is a better, more humane place. Throughout these poems there are moments of swoop and soar, descriptions that will make you laugh and realign your view. In this collection, Alexander McCall Smith reminds us to look at the world differently, to stop once in while and look up at the sky.
This collection has a quiet and fragile beauty. The title poem reached 123,000 people when it was posted on social media in March 2020. It was also read on BBC Radio 4 and thereafter it appeared on blogs and websites across the world. It touched the hearts of all of those struggling to comprehend the bewildering situation in which the peoples of the world found themselves.
The Talented Mr Varg
Spring is coming slowly to Sweden – though not quite as slowly as Detective Ulf Varg’s promised promotion at the Department of Sensitive Crimes. For Varg, referred by his psychoanalyst to group therapy at Malmö’s Wholeness Centre, life now seems mostly a circle of self-examination, something which may or may not be useful when it comes to the nature of his profession and the particularly sensitive cases that have recently come to light.
All in a day’s work for Detective Varg, except that one of his new investigations involves fellow detective Anna; it will require every ounce of self-discipline he has in order to remain professional. The other, more curious case is centred around internationally successful novelist Nils Personn-Cederström. According to his girlfriend, Cederström is being blackmailed – but by whom and for what reason?
This online event is brought to you by At Home with 4 Indies – a collaboration between Booka, Linghams, Book-ish & Forum Books. Different ticket options are available offering access to the the online event only or access plus a copy of one of the books delivered to the door. Copies of the books will be posted out after the event – UK only.
Tickets: £5 (live stream only) or from £12 (live stream plus a copy of one of the books delivered to your door - UK only)