Table Of Content

Cover Page: i About the Author Page: iii Other Titles Page: iv Title Page Page: vii Copyright Page: viii Contents Page: viii Dedication Page: ix Beer and Knees Page: 1 News of Bruce Page: 5 Bruce in Danger? Page: 9 An Inquisition Begins Page: 14 Irene on Popular Culture Page: 18 A Letter from Portugal Page: 23 Coulter’s Candy Page: 27 The Case for Matron Page: 31 I Want to Eat You Up! Page: 35 At Presbyterian Ladies’ Page: 39 Quandong Berries Page: 43 Poor Darling. Poor You Page: 47 A Sighting in the Museum Page: 51 The Intimacy of Tents Page: 56 Spitfires, Courage, Statistics Page: 60 Rhododendron Issues Page: 64 Distressed Oatmeal Page: 68 The Rescue of Hollandaise Sauce Page: 72 Birgitte Offends Page: 76 Fra Filippo Lippi Page: 80 Stuarts and Campbells Page: 84 Outside the Playhouse Theatre Page: 88 At Valvona & Crolla Page: 92 Silting Up Page: 96 The Anthropology of Electricity Page: 100 We Are Surrounded by New Puritans Page: 104 Clare Talks to Bruce Page: 108 On the Flight Deck Page: 112 More Things in Heaven and Earth Page: 116 On the Success of Others Page: 120 Not in the Ordinary Sense of the Word… Page: 125 The Pronunciation of Gullane (Part 72)… Page: 129 Domenica and Nicola Walk to Stockbridge, and Beyond Page: 133 Irene as Termagant Page: 138 All About Hipsters Page: 142 You’ve Got Great Contours Page: 147 They Simply Cried Page: 152 Scottish Defenestrations Page: 156 Mist-Covered Mountains Page: 160 The Association of Scottish Nudists Page: 164 A Meeting in a Bistro Page: 169 Ulysses Reacts Page: 173 What Ulysses Almost Said Page: 177 Extreme Sports Page: 181 Among the Watsonians Page: 186 The Play’s the Thing Page: 190 The Isobars of Guilt Page: 195 Imagined Interrogations Page: 199 A Cry of Freedom and Defiance Page: 203 Hipster Pyjamas Page: 207 An Eighty-four Horse-Power, Six-Cylinder Narcissist Page: 211 The Symbolism of Scones Page: 215 Metaphorical Falls Page: 220 Deceit and Concealment Page: 224 Squtlandiyah Page: 228 Shed Issues Page: 233 Snakes and Ladders Page: 237 Chez Macpherson Page: 242 Bring Back Matron Page: 246 Clare Takes Over Page: 250 In Moray Place Page: 254 Falling Veils of White Page: 258 Thoughts on the 23 Bus Page: 262 I Cannot Live Without You Page: 266 Clare’s Proposal Page: 270 Para-Mountain-Biking on Skye Page: 274 Freedom Come All Ye Page: 278 Walking Home Page: 282 Kitchen Talk in Scotland Street Page: 286 See, I Am Here Page: 290

Description:

Our beloved cast of characters are back, as are the joys and trials of life at 44 Scotland Street in this latest installment of Alexander McCall Smith’s delightfully charming series. Bertie’s mother, Irene, returns from the Middle East to discover that, in her absence, her son has been exposed to the worst of evils—television shows, ice cream parlors, and even unsanctioned art at the National Portrait Gallery. Her wrath descends on Bertie’s long-suffering father, Stuart. But Stuart has found a reason to spend more time outside of the house and seems to have a new spring in his step. What does this mean for the residents of 44 Scotland Street? The winds of change have come to the others as well. Angus undergoes a spiritual transformation after falling victim to an unexpected defenestration. Bruce has fallen in a rather different sense for a young woman who is determined to share with him her enthusiasm for extreme sports. Matthew and Elspeth have a falling out with their triplets’ au pair, while Big Lou continues to fall in love with her new role as a mother. And as Irene resumes work on what she calls her Bertie Project, reinstating Bertie’s Italian lessons, yoga classes, and psychotherapy, Bertie begins to hatch a project of his own—one that promises freedom.