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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

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For the first book in the series, see The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (novel). For the television film and series, see The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series).
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
AuthorAlexander McCall Smith
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime fiction
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
eBook

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a series of novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.[1]

The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana.[1] Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective. Mma is a Setswana term of respect for a woman; the equivalent term for a man is Rra.

The episodic novels are as much about the adventures and foibles of different characters as they are about solving mysteries. Each book in the series follows on from the previous book. They have been adapted for radio and television.[1]

Characters

Main

  • Mma Precious Ramotswe, the first female private investigator in Botswana. 'Traditionally built' heroine and protagonist of the series.
  • Mma Grace Makutsi, the agency's only employee, first as secretary, then as assistant detective, and then associate detective .
  • Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, mechanic and proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mma Ramotswe's suitor and eventual husband. He is always referred to in these novels by this very formal title.

Secondary

  • Charlie, the older of the two apprentices in Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's garage.
  • Fanwell, the younger apprentice, always referred to as such in the earlier novels. His name is not mentioned until Tea Time for the Traditionally Built. He lives in a small house with his grandmother and his several younger brothers and sisters. Although he is slightly more serious than his older friend, Charlie, he still frequently discusses girls with Charlie. He eventually becomes a mechanic in "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection".
  • Mr. Polopetsi, an assistant to Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. He is introduced in In The Company of Cheerful Ladies.
  • Phuti Radiphuti, Grace Makutsi's fiancé, introduced in In The Company of Cheerful Ladies. In The Double Comfort Safari Club, he has an accident in which he loses his foot, which causes Mma Makutsi to worry about their relationship. They are finally married in The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party.
  • Violet Sephotho, Mma Makutsi's rival from the Botswana Secretarial College, introduced in In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. She returns in most books subsequent to her introduction with new schemes to ruin Mma Makutsi's life with Rra Phuti Radiphuti. In The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, she is discussed as running for a parliament in an upcoming by-election but makes no direct appearance. In The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon she is named as the owner of the dress shop Botswana Elegance, but again makes no direct appearance.
  • Dr Moffat, A real person, Howard Moffat, a direct descendant of Robert Moffat, the Scottish missionary whose daughter Mary married David Livingstone. He and his wife are good friends of Mma Ramotswe
  • Mma Potokwane, matron of the 'Orphan Farm', always ready to offer wisdom, bush tea and cake to Mma Ramotswe. Mma Potokwane is somewhat pushy, especially to Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, but always in a good cause.
  • Rra Obed Ramotswe, the late father of Precious Ramotswe. Although he does not appear in the book, Mma Ramotswe often invokes his memory when contemplating a case or life in general.
  • Note Mokoti, Mma Precious Ramotswe's former husband and father of her deceased child. Note treated Mma Ramotswe poorly and Precious says that marrying him was a mistake.
  • Mma Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's two adopted children, Motholeli and Puso.
  • Clovis Andersen, an American, author of the self-published The Principles of Private Detection and idol of both Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. He arrives for a visit in The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection and his presence helps to solve a very personal case.
  • Itumelang Clovis Radiphuti infant son of Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti, born three weeks premature in The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon.

Settings

Themes and topics of the stories

Issues addressed in the cases

Series Order

  1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998)
  2. Tears of the Giraffe (2000)
  3. Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)
  4. The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002)
  5. The Full Cupboard of Life (2004)
  6. In The Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004 – also known as The Night-Time Dancer)
  7. Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006)
  8. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007)
  9. The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)
  10. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
  11. The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
  12. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (2011)
  13. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (2012)
  14. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (2013)
  15. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe (2014)
  16. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine (2015)
  17. Precious and Grace (2016)

Television series

Main article: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series)

The BBC and American television network HBO filmed a series based on the books that stars Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe and was shot on location in Botswana.[1] The 109-minute pilot was written by Richard Curtis and Anthony Minghella, who also directed.[1] The six 60-minute episodes were written and directed by others.[2]

Radio series

McCall Smith himself dramatised the series for BBC Radio 4. Thirty-one episodes have been broadcast, the first on 10 September 2004, and the most recent on 5 August 2016. The episodes encompass the first to the sixteenth books. They star Claire Benedict as Mma Ramotswe (except the 2010 episodes, when she was played by Janice Acquah).[3]

Episodes:

  1. The Daddy – 10 September 2004[4]
  2. The Bone – 17 September 2004[5]
  3. The Maid – 24 September 2004[6]
  4. Tears of the Giraffe – 1 October 2004[7]
  5. The Chief Justice of Beauty – 30 August 2005[8]
  6. The Confession – 6 September 2005[9]
  7. The Kalahari Typing School for Men – 13 September 2005[10]
  8. The Admirer – 20 September 2005[11]
  9. How to Handle Men through the Application of Psychology – 18 January 2007[12]
  10. House of Hope – 25 January 2007[13]
  11. The Return of Note – 1 February 2007[14]
  12. The Ceremony – 8 February 2007[15]
  13. There Is No Such Thing as Free Food – 1 January 2008[16]
  14. The Best Profession for a Blackmailer – 2 January 2008[17]
  15. A Very Rude Woman – 3 January 2008[18]
  16. Talking Shoes – 4 January 2008[19]
  17. The Miracle at Speedy Motors – 25 December 2008[20]
  18. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built – 25 December 2009[21]
  19. The Seller of Beds – 25 December 2009[22]
  20. An Exceptionally Wicked Lady – 2 December 2010[23]
  21. Canoeing for Ladies – 3 December 2010[24]
  22. A Late Van Just Glimpsed – 3 November 2011[25]
  23. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding – 4 November 2011[26]
  24. A Man from a Far Place – 20 March 2013[27]
  25. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection – 21 March 2013[28]
  26. The Modern Husband Course – 5 February 2014[29]
  27. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon – 6 February 2014[30]
  28. The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe – 12 March 2015[31]
  29. The Dish of Yesterday – 13 March 2015[32]
  30. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine: Part 1 – 4 August 2016
  31. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine: Part 2 – 5 August 2016

Cookbook

A cookbook associated with the novels was published in 2009; Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook by Stuart Brown, with a foreword by Alexander McCall Smith.[33] [34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bellafante, Ginia (March 26, 2009). "Unusual Sleuth, Unusual Setting". The New York Times.
  2. ^ People & Places (2008). "Speaking of HBO". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-03-14. [dead link]
  3. ^ Radio dramatisation at RadioListings.co.uk
  4. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Daddy
  5. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Bone
  6. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Maid
  7. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Tears of the Giraffe
  8. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Chief Justice of Beauty
  9. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Confession
  10. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Kalahari Typing School for Men
  11. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Admirer
  12. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: How to Handle Men through the Application of Psychology
  13. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: House of Hope
  14. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Return of Note
  15. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Ceremony
  16. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: There Is No Such Thing as Free Food
  17. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Best Profession for a Blackmailer
  18. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Very Rude Woman
  19. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Talking Shoes
  20. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Miracle at Speedy Motors
  21. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
  22. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Seller of Beds
  23. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: An Exceptionally Wicked Lady
  24. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Canoeing for Ladies
  25. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Late Van Just Glimpsed
  26. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding
  27. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Man from a Far Place
  28. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
  29. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Modern Husband Course
  30. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
  31. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe
  32. ^ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Dish of Yesterday
  33. ^ Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook
  34. ^ Velká Británie - The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency: Alexander McCall Smith a jeho První dámská detektivní kancelář (Eva Sercombe)

External links

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