It was a chance encounter with Armistead Maupin in San Francisco that inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write this series of novels based around the fictional No. 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh’s New Town. The episodes originally appeared in The Scotsman.

Love Over Scotland is the third in the series and revolves around the many colourful characters that come and go at No. 44 Scotland Street. McCall Smith handles the characters with his customary charm and deftness—the stalwart Tory chartered surveyor, the pushy mother, most importantly in this novel, the Italian-speaking prodigy, Bertie.