The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

44 Scotland Street, Book 13

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose; 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 than they bargained for from their trip to the circus. And that's just the start....

Take a few minutes to relax with a cup of tea of your favourite tea and savour the affairs of the world in microcosm, teeming with life's loves and challenges. Little dramas writ large by the master chronicler of modern life and manners.

©2019 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2019 Recorded Books

If you are following the series, you will enjoy it

The author has not lost his touch in the series. A truly civilized and compassionate look at modern life.

Wonderful comfort read. I Love this series.

I love this series so much. It’s such a comfort read. I would not suggest you dive in at book 13. Start from the beginning. My only disappointment with it is that no matter how I try to stretch out the listening experience it eventually has to end. I will miss everyone until the next book comes out.

Another gem

Another wonderful installment in this treasure of a series! The characters feel like old friends at this point, and the Edinburgh feels like a familiar and beloved place. And the perfect narrator, who makes the stories even better! Thank you to all for bringing this place of goodness, humor, and decency to our sometimes grim world!

Whew. Much, much better than the last.

After the previous disappointment, this installment in the series was a big relief. He's back to good storytelling again, it seems.

OK, maybe this series is getting old to me

The headline says it all. The book is well written. The narration is superb. Characters from previous books make their appearances and do their accustomed thing. To me, though, this addition to the series fell flat. Only one of the many plot lines moved forward significantly. Also, Bertie's female classmates are depicted throughout in one dreary dimension. They are heartless nagging bullies.So extreme are they that they made me wonder: why so? I've enjoyed dozens of this author's works. This is the first one that made me wonder if the author has a streak of misogyny. Nonetheless, I would rather have a new McCall Smith book than not.

A Dog for Bertie

another great reading of the life of Bertie and 44th street. loved catching up w old friends.

Surprising adventures !

Irene left and all is well with the rest of the family. Things are looking up for all the people around them.
Enjoy !

44 Scotland St alway makes me happy :)

OK, Alexander McCall Smith does not write great literature, but he writes excellent, charming small stories that bring so much joy, particularly to women of a certain age.

I'm so thrilled each time McCall Smith puts out a new adult book. He has a brilliant sense that the world is predominantly good and he gives this back to the world in novel after novel.

His particular gentle humor and deep yet light exploration ( yes, he manages that) of ethics and ideas are blessings to his readers.

44 Scotland Street (my all-time favorite of his book series'--I think) holds the most charming and quirky characters. Bertie, Angus & Cyril the dog and Big Lou, are beloved by all. The villains, except for a brief foray into underground Glasgow in a previous book, are garden variety narcissists who always suffer such hilariously satisfying comeuppances, yet never seem to change much. It's villains, of course, who refuse to grow, so we are allowed to enjoy their punishments.

The protagonists grow a bit. Why Bertie finally turned seven after inexplicably remaining six years old for numerous years. The good guys consistently forgive one another their short comings.

Sometimes animals, Cyril usually, are allowed magical powers, though in this book, Cyril's abilities are taken down a notch, perhaps reflecting Dominica's domesticating influence on her new husband Angus. That was a wee bit sad. I liked it when Cyril was allowed to be a more magical being.

I heartily recommend his other series: The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Isabelle Dalhousie, and Corduroy Mansions featuring Freddie de la Hay, the Pimlico terrier, another swell pup.

Loved this book

What a joy to follow the residents of Scotland Street can’t wait for the next one

As Refreshing as Peppermint Tea

Wisdom for our times from people like you and I. Loved every minute of it.