Alexander McCall Smith is professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is also the author of over fifty books. These range from adult fiction to specialist titles, such as Forensic Aspects of Sleep, to a wide selection of children's books. In 1999 The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was published. This book quickly became a bestseller and was voted one of the 'International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement. In America the success of the series was instant with sales exceeding two million in the USA alone. Winner of three Author of the Year awards in 24 (British Book Awards, Booksellers' Association and Waterstone's), Bloomsbury Publishing are very proud and excited to be re-publishing Alexander's key children's books.