44 Scotland Street Books in Order
This reading order guide provides the complete list of 44 Scotland Street books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!
About the 44 Scotland Street Series
The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall whisks you off to Edinburgh’s New Town – a world that’s friendly & slightly wacky . This series focuses on an apartment building where ordinary low-key lives are being lived out – & then some. Although 44 Scotland Street itself is purely fictional – the street it’s based on is very real , which lends it a sense of authenticity. In this building you’ve got an incredible range of people: students trying to figure out what on earth they’re doing, older folk who care deeply about tradition, artists and people who’ve given up on trying to make sense of it all, just living life day by day . And it’s in the midst of all this that friendships start to form & relationships get a re-shuffle & sometimes something that seemed like a minor issue can blow up into something much bigger . The books are often laugh-out-loud funny , but they’re also warm & genuinely kind – it’s easy to really care about the characters.
One of the main characters is Pat, a young woman who’s dropped out of university & is now working in an art gallery. She’s a truth-teller who’s always curious – which can sometimes get her into rather sticky situations. She’s surrounded by a cast of equally memorable characters from the building: Bruce, a guy who’s got an impenetrable confidence bordering on arrogance; Domenica, a sharp-witted widow who never having a problem speaking her mind; and Angus Lordie, a painter with a dog named Cyril that’s notorious for nipping at ankles. And then there’s Bertie, a staggeringly intelligent five year old boy who’s mother is doing him no favours by pushing him so hard. It’s Bertie’s longing to have a normal & happy childhood that’s one of the most emotionally charged parts of the whole series. The way the author keeps shifting the story between different characters really helps you get inside their heads & understand their motivations.
The series first came out as daily episodes in a newspaper, so you can see why they’ve got a real easy-flowing style that keeps you hooked . As the series goes on, especially in books like Espresso Tales : the characters mess up, get the learn from it , forgive each other and just move on as real people do . The humor’s quiet & clever, and Edinburgh just feels like a real place, living & breathing in the background. Overall, this series is just about ordinary lives, told in a gentle & thoughtful way, & once you get started it really feels like you could just keep on reading about the lives of the folk at 44 Scotland Street for ever.
44 Scotland Street Books in Publication Order
