Alexander McCall Smith, born in 1948 in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was for many years Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and is now Emeritus Professor.

An expert on ethics and bioethics, he was educated at Christian Brothers College before earning a Ph.D. in law from the University of Edinburgh.

McCall Smith has taught law at Queen's University Belfast and co-founded and taught at the University of Botswana.

The author of over sixty books on a wide array of subjects, he gained worldwide recognition in 1999 for his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. S

Ince that success, McCall Smith has become a full-time writer, with his books translated into forty-two languages.

Honored as a Commander of the British Empire and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his awards also include being named British Book Awards Author of the Year. McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh.