Alexander McCall Smith
Many Edinburgh streets achieve everlasting fame through the efforts of poets and authors. Scotland Street, in the city’s New Town, is just one and is the setting of one of Edinburgh’s most famous fictional addresses – 44 Scotland Street – achieving celebrity status thanks to the prolific pen of Alexander McCall Smith. He has written more than 100 books covering all genres. His popular Scotland Street novels were originally published in The Scotsman and these along with other classics like The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series have been translated into languages across the world. Equally world-wide are his Honorary Degrees, with his achievements recognised by universities from Dallas to Belfast. BBorn in Southern Rhodesia, Smith moved to Edinburgh to study law. He eventually settled in the city in 1984, deservingly earning the title of one of the city’s literary greats. McCall Smith could also be called a philanthropist – he purchased a chain of uninhabited island in the Hebrides, insisting they were to be kept untouched as a sanctuary for wildlife.