The Pavilion in the Clouds

'The ever fecund Alexander McCall Smith continues to surprise as well as please... This is one of the most enjoyable of his many enjoyable novels' -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman * 'Most of the historical novels I review are so unrelentingly dark or dramatic that it makes a nice change to read one with so many touches of gentle humour ... The characters are so well observed that I had to remind myself that the book is written by a man from a mostly female perspective, because he captures the nuances of female interactions so well' * Historical Novel Society * 'this utterly engaging standalone novel shimmers with atmosphere and family tension ... a stirring, evocative psychological mystery set in 1938 as the British Empire limps through its final days' * Lovereading.co.uk * 'Strong characters and beautiful settings, from the mountainous tea plantation in Ceylon to the rolling hills of the Scottish countryside' * Asian Review of Books * 'Paints a vivid and atmospheric story of life in a tea plantation towards the end of the British Empire... Cleverly layered with intrigue, suspense, romance, and warmly drawn characters' * Sixtyplusurfers * 'Offering a child's perspective, the novel chimes with Harper Lee's 1960 classic To Kill A Mockingbird' * Sunday Post * 'Esteemed writer McCall Smith brings us a new and exciting enigma' * Scottish Field * 'A window to an era when the British knew the time had come for them to leave' * MintLounge * 'Insightful, sometimes poignant and often humorous, whether his setting is in present day London, Edinburgh, Botswana or pre-war Ceylon, McCall Smith's grasp of people and relationships is superb' * GoodReads, 5 stars *

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has 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 throughout the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.