The Forgotten Affairs of Youth

Praise

“Entertaining and enchanting reading about characters you think you know—and wish you did.” —Las Vegas Review Journal

“Dalhousie [is] back in true form. . . . An endearing, intelligent and kindly character.” —The Charleston Post & Courier

“Readers get to soak up the cozy atmosphere of this Scottish university town and McCall Smith’s gentle good will.” —The Boston Globe
 
“A real treat.” —The Plain Dealer
 
“Subtle, surprising, and incisive.” —Sacramento Book Review

“You don’t read these books to find out ‘who done it,’ you read them for the pleasure of spending a few hours following a sensitive, intellectual woman as she roams around Edinburgh speculating ingeniously about everything from moral responsibility to aesthetics and metaphysics.” —BlogCritics

“McCall Smith’s latest novel featuring the wise but impish Edinburgh philosopher Isabel Dalhousie. . . . [And] countless small adventures and gentle observations.” —The Toronto Star
 
“Totally absorbing. . . . Isabel is everything you’d want in a philosopher, but she is also quirky and witty.” —Booklist (starred review)
 
“You needn’t be a series-long admirer of Isabel Dalhousie to be beguiled by this curious philosopher and casual sleuth. . . . A heroine worth following.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“McCall Smith’s talent for dialogue is matched only by his gift for characterization. It’s hard to believe that he could make up a character as complex and unique as Isabel. She is by turns fearless, vulnerable, headstrong, and insecure, but always delightful.” —Chicago Tribune
 
“Endearing. . . . Offers tantalizing glimpses of Edinburgh’s complex character and a nice, long look into the beautiful mind of a thinking woman.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“In Mma Ramotswe, [McCall Smith] minted one of the most memorable heroines in any modern fiction. Now, with the creation of Isabel Dalhousie, he’s done it again. . . . She’s such good company, it’s hard to believe she’s fictional. You finish [one] installment greedily looking forward to more.” —Newsweek
 
“Isabel is a force to be reckoned with.”—USA Today