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ABOUT THIS BOOK

PUBLISHER: Polygon

ISBN: 9781846977442

RRP: £17.99

PAGES: 288

PUBLICATION DATE:
August 6, 2026

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The Prime of Bertie Pollock

by Alexander McCall Smith

To find out where we are going, we sometimes need to find out where we came from.

Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori Montagna, who is suffering from an acute identity crisis, wants to know more about her own past, and after doing a DNA test, she discovers that she has a relative she didn’t know about. But her new-found family causes a rift between her and her flatmate, Antonia Collie. Can they work out their differences?

For Bruce, it’s a case of history repeating itself. After getting all the attention he craves – landing a starring role in a new television series – the universe has one way of putting him in his place. Even in a modern Scotland, lurking Calvinist tendencies might still strike.

And Bertie’s dream of getting to the promised land – the Dear Green Place – comes crashing down as he learns that he is to move to the far North East, leaving poor Ranald Braveheart Macpherson a little heartbroken and lost. But upon his return to Edinburgh, the boys take a trip to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and Bertie’s kindness gets a very royal recognition.

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Alexander McCall Smith (Author)

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful ‘No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers through the world. These include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series, and the Corduroy Mansions series, novels which started life as a delightful (but challenging to write) cross-media serial, written on the website of the Telegraph Media Group. This series won two major cross-media awards – Association of Online Publishers Digital Publishing Award 2009 for a Cross Media Project and the New Media Age award.

In addition to these series, Alexander writes stand-alone books. 2014 sees publication of three new novels which fall into this area: ‘The Forever Girl’; ‘Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party’; and ‘Emma’ – a reworking of the classic Jane Austen novel. This year there will also be a stunning book on Edinburgh, ‘A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh’. Earlier stand alone novels include ‘La’s Orchestra Saves the World’ and ‘Trains and Lovers: A Hearts Journey’.

Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America. In March of 2011 he received an award from the President of Botswana for his services through literature to that country.

Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.