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Alexander Mccall Smith Facts

Alexander Mccall Smith Facts
Alexander Mccall Smith is a Rhodesian-born writer and medical law professor best known for his fiction series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. He was born Alexander Mccall Smith on August 24th, 1948 in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe today), and had three older siblings. His father was a scholar and his mother was a writer. Alexander was educated in Africa at Christian Brother's College and then went to Scotland where he studied law and earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh. While teaching at Queen's University Belfast he won a literary competition in the children's category. This began the literary side of Alexander's career.
Interesting Alexander Mccall Smith Facts:
Alexander published 30 books in the 1980s and 1990s including the children's books The White Hippo (1980), The Perfect Hamburger (1984), Alix and the Tigers (1988), The Tin Dog (1990), Calculator Annie (1991), The Popcorn Pirates (1991), The Doughnut Ring (1992), Paddy and the Ratcatcher (1994), The Muscle Machine (1995), The Bubblegum Tree (1996), and The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean (1997).
In the 1990s Alexander also published two books in his Akimbo series, three books in the Harriet Bean series, and two books in the Max and Maddy series.
In 1991 Alexander Mccall Smith's first book in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series was published. This series became his bestselling series.
Alexander Mccall Smith taught law at the University of Botswana from 1981 to 1984. He cofounded the school in 1981.
While teaching at the University of Botswana, Alexander Mccall Smith, known professionally as an expert on medical ethics, wrote the only book on Botswana's legal system The Criminal Law of Botswana. It was published in 1992.
In 1984 Alexander returned to Scotland. In Scotland he has worked at the University of Edinburgh as a Professor of Medical Law. He later became Emeritus Professor at Edinburgh's School of Law.
Alexander Mccall Smith has held many positions including chairman of the Ethics Committee of the British Medical Journal, vice-chairman of Human Genetics Commission of the U.K., member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee.
Alexander Mccall Smith plays the bassoon and cofounded The Really Terrible Orchestra.
Alexander helped found the Number 1 Ladies' Opera House in Botswana, the regions first opera training center. He wrote their first production's stage play.
Alexander Mccall Smith has written several other series including the 44 Scotland Street Series, The Sunday Philosophy Club Series, Corduroy Mansions, and Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments.
Alexander Mccall Smith has written several stand-alone novels including La's Orchestra Saves the World, Trains and Lovers, The Forever Girl, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party, and Emma: A Modern Retelling.
In addition to his fiction novels Alexander Mccall Smith has written and co-written several academic texts including All about Drink and Drug Abuse (1991), Forensic Aspects of Sleep (1997), and Creating Humans: Ethical Questions where Reproduction and Science Collide (2004).
Alexander Mccall Smith lives in Scotland with Elizabeth, a physician and his wife. They have two daughters named Emily and Lucy.
Alexander and his family live close to other famous writers including Ian Rankin, and JK Rowling.


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