Scotland Street occupies a busy, bohemian corner of Edinburgh's New Town. And number 44 has more than its fair share of the street's eccentrics and failures...

     Despite inhabiting a great city renowned for its impeccable restraint, the extended family of 44 Scotland Street is trembling on the brink of reckless self-indulgence. Matthew and Elspeth receive startling--and expensive--news on a visit to the Infirmary, Angus and Domenica are contemplating an Italian ménage a trois, and even Big Lou is overheard discussing cosmetic surgery. But when Bertie Pollock--6 years old and impatient to be 7--mislays his meddling mother, Irene, one afternoon, a valuable lesson is learned: that wish-fulfilment is a dangerous business. Warm-hearted, wise and very funny, The Importance of Being Seven brings us a fresh and delightful set of insights into philosophy and fraternity among Edinburgh's most loveable residents.

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Praise for Alexander McCall Smith:
 
“In its own way, McCall Smith’s world is as stylized and hermetic as those created by P.G. Wodehouse or Damon Runyon—a sweet and timeless bubble with its own morality, language and customs. Entering it can be a source of great comfort in these uncertain times.”
—The Seattle Times
 
“To say McCall Smith is a literary phenomenon doesn’t quite describe what has happened. He has become more of a movement, a worldwide club for the dissemination of gentle wisdom and good cheer.… [His books] make a splash of colour in a drab world and provide a genial buffer against the disappointments of life.”
—The Telegraph

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ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH was born in what is now Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He is now professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh. He has written more than fifty books, including a number of specialist titles, but is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has achieved bestseller status on four continents. He lives in Scotland, where in his spare time he is a bassoonist in the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra).

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