Six-year-old Bertie and artist Angus Lordie join forces to rescue Lordie's beloved dog Cyril from the pound in this fourth charming installment in the bestselling 44 Scotland Street series.

"The great city of Edinburgh is renowned for its impeccable restraint, so how, then, did the extended family of 44 Scotland Street come to be trembling on the brink of reckless self-indulgence? Bertie is--finally!--about to turn seven. But one afternoon he mislays his meddling mother Irene, and learns a valuable lesson: wish-fulfillment can be a dangerous business. Angus and Domenica contemplate whether to give in to romance on holiday in Italy, and...

The latest book in Alexander McCall Smith's popular 44 Scotland Street series is a sheer delight. Summer has come to Scotland Street. The long days have prompted its denizens to engage in flights of fancy. Some, like the Duke of Johannesburg's plan to create a microlite seaplane, are literal flights, and some, like the vain Bruce Anderson's idea of settling down with one of his many admirers, are more metaphorical. With the domineering Irene off pursuing...

"It's back to Corduroy Mansions--the slightly dilapidated but well-lived-in mansion block in London's hip Pimlico neighborhood--for the third installment in Alexander McCall Smith's newest popular series. There's never a dull moment for the residents of Corduroy Mansions: Berthea Snark is still at work on her scathing biography of the only loathsome Liberal Democrat member of Parliament--her own son, Oedipus; literary agents Rupert Porter and Barbara...

Between glances in the mirror, vain Bruce contemplates a new career as a wine merchant. His troubled flat-mate Pat finds herself looking for true love at a nudist picnic. Precoucious Bertie, now six years old, prepares for kindergarten despite the ho