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44 Scotland Street Séries

Cette série se déroule dans une rue animée et bohème d'Édimbourg, où la haute bourgeoisie côtoie étudiants, poètes et portraitistes. Au cœur de l'intrigue se trouve le numéro 44, abritant une galerie colorée d'excentriques et d'artistes en devenir. Les récits suivent leurs vies entremêlées, leurs relations et leurs quêtes personnelles au milieu de ce milieu artistique vibrant. Elle offre des observations pleines d'esprit et perspicaces sur la nature humaine et les dynamiques sociales.

The Importance of Being Seven
L'insoutenable légèreté des scones
Le monde selon Bertie
Love Over Scotland
Espresso Tales
44 Scotland street

Ordre de lecture recommandé

  1. 44 Scotland street

    • 413pages
    • 15 heures de lecture

    Quand la jeune Pat pousse la porte du 44 Scotland Street, elle espère bien prendre un nouveau départ. Entre son colocataire, un beau gosse insupportable et terriblement séduisant, et son excentrique voisine de palier, Domenica, la voilà entraînée dans une nouvelle vie au coeur de l'Édimbourg bohème. Son travail à la galerie « Something Special » s'annonce pourtant un peu morne. Sauf que Pat découvre au fond de l'obscur endroit un tableau qui pourrait bien valoir son pesant d'or et transformer sa vie ! D'abord publiées sous la forme d'un roman-feuilleton, ces chroniques d'Alexander McCall Smith brossent avec humour et tendresse la société d'Édimbourg et composent, entre chassés-croisés amoureux et intrigues haletantes, une savoureuse galerie de portraits. « À chaque étage de l'immeuble s'ouvre une histoire différente, les personnages se croisent dans les couloirs, leurs vies s'emmêlent et se démêlent. L'humour so british est pince-sans-rire, à la limite de l'absurde, on se dit parfois que c'est trop mais on en redemande. » Célestine Fauche, Elle

    44 Scotland street1
    3,6

  2. Espresso Tales

    • 368pages
    • 13 heures de lecture

    44 SCOTLAND STREET - Book 2 The residents and neighbors of 44 Scotland Street and the city of Edinburgh come to vivid life in these gently satirical, wonderfully perceptive serial novels, featuring six-year-old Bertie, a remarkably precocious boy—just ask his mother. Back are all our favorite denizens of a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh. Bertie the immensely talented six year old is now enrolled in kindergarten, and much to his dismay, has been clad in pink overalls for his first day of class. Bruce has lost his job as a surveyor, and between admiring glances in the mirror, is contemplating becoming a wine merchant. Pat is embarking on a new life at Edinburgh University and perhaps on a new relationship, courtesy of Domenica, her witty and worldly-wise neighbor. McCall Smith has much in store for them as the brief spell of glorious summer sunshine gives way to fall a season cursed with more traditionally Scottish weather. Full of McCall Smith’s gentle humor and sympathy for his characters, Espresso Tales is also an affectionate portrait of a city and its people who, in the author’s own words, “make it one of the most vibrant and interesting places in the world.”

    Espresso Tales2
    3,8

  4. Le monde selon Bertie

    • 416pages
    • 15 heures de lecture

    Alors que Pat commence enfin à se rapprocher de Matthew, voila que Bruce, son ex colocataire, fait son grand retour en ville, plus profiteur et suffisant que jamais. Son cœur n'avait pas besoin de ça, surtout que son amie Domenica est à bout de nerf : chose rare au 44 Scotland Street, elle est confrontée à de perturbants problèmes de voisinage ! Quant à Bertie, qui espérait que la naissance de son frère le libérerait du joug maternel, le voila plus découragé que jamais : en plus des cours de yoga et de saxophone, il est désormais obligé de changer les couches d'un bébé qui ressemble étrangement au Dr Fairbairn, son psychothérapeute... Sous la sémillante plume d'Alexander McCall Smith, les locataires du 44 Scotland Street continuent de partager le même toit pour le pire comme pour le meilleur.

    Le monde selon Bertie4
    4,1

  5. L'insoutenable légèreté des scones

    • 428pages
    • 15 heures de lecture

    Pour un simple observateur, l‘admirable ville d’Édimbourg - lieu d’élection des philosophes éclairés où l’on déguste de savoureuses pâtisseries avec le thé - peut sembler préservée des émotions fortes. Pourtant, au 44 Scotland Street, quand Matthew et Elspeth s’engagent dans l’aventure risquée du mariage, l’extravagant peintre Angus Lordie a le pressentiment d’un désastre. Irène est sidérée d’apprendre que son fils Bertie nourrit un projet inacceptable. Le superficiel, l’arrogant Bruce découvre une ride et subit le premier refus de sa vie tandis qu’Angus affronte les conséquences de son égoïsme de célibataire. Sans parler d’un énorme gangster qui arrive de Glasgow avec des cadeaux…

    L'insoutenable légèreté des scones5
    4,0

  6. The Importance of Being Seven

    • 279pages
    • 10 heures de lecture

    Will Bertie ever get away from his overbearing mother? And will we say goodbye to a Scotland Street resident Angus Lordie and his gold-toothed dog Cyril as a jaunt to the hills of Tuscany beckons? They star alongside the familiar cast of favourites, as we follow their daily pursuit of a little happiness.

    The Importance of Being Seven6
    4,2

  7. Bertie Plays the Blues

    Even down to its well-set Georgian townhouses, Edinburgh is a hymn to measure and harmony. But on Scotland Street, domestic accord is in short supply. Matthew and Elspeth welcome three new arrivals, though the joys of multiple parenthood are somewhat lost due to sleep deprivation and the difficulties of telling their brood apart. Angus and Domenica are to marry, and Domenica has ambitious and disturbing plans for their living arrangements, especially when it appears that Antonia, in Italy recuperating from Stendhal Syndrome, may not return. And little Bertie, feeling blue, puts himself up for adoption on eBay. Can Edinburgh's most deliciously dysfunctional residents forsake discord and learn to dance to the same happy tune?

    Bertie Plays the Blues7
    4,1

  8. Sunshine on Scotland Street

    Praise for the 44 Scotland Street series 'A joyous, charming portrait of city life and human foibles' Sunday Express Scotland Street witnesses the wedding of the century of Angus Lordie to Domenica Macdonald, but as the newlyweds depart on honeymoon Edinburgh is in disarray. Recovering from the trauma of being best man, Matthew is taken up by a Dane called Bo, while Cyril eludes his dog-sitter and embarks on an odyssey involving fox-holes and the official residence of a cardinal. Narcissist Bruce meets his match in the form of a sinister doppelganger; Bertie, set up by his mother for fresh embarrassment at school, yearns for freedom; and Big Lou goes viral. But the residents of Scotland Street rally, and order - and Cyril - is restored by the combined effects of understanding, kindness, and, most of all, friendship.

    Sunshine on Scotland Street8
    4,0

  9. Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers

    • 336pages
    • 12 heures de lecture

    It's not that poor Bertie Pollock is wishing his life away, but having anticipated his 7th birthday for so long he's now longing to be 18. But there's a lot of living to do and Bertie isn't alone amongst the residents of Scotland Street in trying to do just that - with mixed fortunes.

    Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers9
    4,1

  10. The Revolving Door of Life

    • 288pages
    • 11 heures de lecture

    For seven-year-old Bertie Pollock, life in Edinburgh's most celebrated fictional street has just got immeasurably better. The enforced absence of his endlessly pushy mother Irene - currently consciousness-raising in a Bedouin harem (don't ask) - has manifold and immediate blessings: no psychotherapy, no Italian lessons and no yoga classes. Bliss. For Scotland Street's grown-ups, life throws up some new dilemmas. Matthew makes a discovery that could make him even richer but also leaves him worried. Pat makes one that could make her poorer and her father miserable - unless that uber-narcissist, Bruce, can help her out. And the Duke of Johannesburg, we discover, isn't exactly who he says he is. From what happens behind Edinburgh Airport's luggage carousel to Machiavellian manoeuvrings at the Association of Scottish Nudists, Alexander McCall Smith guides us through the brighter, lighter and frankly unexpected side of Edinburgh life. As ever with his 44 Scotland Street series, his readers will make their own discovery: that its blend of wit and wisdom mark it out as a comedic tour de force.

    The Revolving Door of Life10
    4,1

  11. The Bertie Project

    • 352pages
    • 13 heures de lecture

    Bertie's respite from his overbearing mother, Irene, is over. She has returned from the middle-east, only to discover that her son has been exposed to the worst evils of cartoons, movies and Irn Bru, and her wrath falls upon her unfortunate husband, Stuart. Meanwhile, Bruce has fallen in love with someone other than himself; Big Lou wants to adopt her beloved Finlay; Matthew and Elspeth host the Duke of Johannesburg for supper and Bertie decides he wants to move out of Scotland Street altogether and live with his grandmother, Nicola. Can Irene and Stuart's marriage survive? Will Bruce's newfound love last? And will Bertie really leave Scotland Street? Find out in the next instalment of this charming, beloved series.

    The Bertie Project11
    4,1

  13. The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

    • 320pages
    • 12 heures de lecture

    It is summer in Scotland Street (as it always is) and for the habitués of Edinburgh's favourite street some extraordinary adventures lie in waiting. For the impossibly vain Bruce Anderson - he of the clove-scented hair gel - it may finally be time to settle down, and surely it can only be a question of picking the lucky winner from the hordes of his admirers. The Duke of Johannesburg is keen to take his flight of fancy, a microlite seaplane, from the drawing board to the skies. Big Lou is delighted to discover that her young foster son has a surprising gift for dance but she is faced with big decisions to make on his and her futures. And with Irene now away to pursue her research in Aberdeen, her husband, Stuart, and infinitely long-suffering son, Bertie, are free to play. Stuart rekindles an old friendship over peppermint tea whilst Bertie and his friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson get more they bargained for from their trip to the circus. And that's just the beginning . . .

    The Peppermint Tea Chronicles13
    4,1

  14. A Promise of Ankles

    For the residents of 44 Scotland Street, life in Edinburgh's intriguing New Town is a thing to be relished. After all, there are new faces to excite Domenica's anthropological imagination, precious moments with his triplets for Matthew to savor, and the prospect of a trip to the promised land of Glasgow for young Bertie. But there are mysteries that need solving too. Could Angus Lordie's dog, Cyril -- the only dog in Scotland with a gold tooth -- have unearthed a Neanderthal skull? Does the long-suffering Stuart have any hope of kindling a new relationship when Bruce, ever the navel gazer and consummate seducer, effortlessly steps into his pas de deux? And how will the patrons of Big Lou's cafe react to the menu's imminent culinary transformation?

    A Promise of Ankles14
    4,0