Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2011
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
In the elegantly crumbling four-story mansion block in Pimlico called Corduroy Mansions, the comings and goings of the wonderfully motley crew of residents continue apace.
A pair of New Age operators has determined that Terence Moongrove's estate is the cosmologically correct place for their Centre for Cosmological Studies. Literary agent Barbara Ragg has decided to represent a man who is writing a book about his time "hanging out" with the Abominable Snowman. And our small, furry, endlessly surprising canine hero, Freddie de la Hay - belonging to failed oenophile William French - has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring.
Needless to say, the other denizens of Corduroy Mansions have issues of their own. All will be addressed with the wit, charm, and insight into the foibles of the human condition that have become the hallmark of this truly peerless storyteller.
"Somewhat anemic characters, a silly subplot involving the autobiography of a yeti, and a lack of trenchant observations about human nature may disappoint those expecting the high quality of Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series." - Publishers Weekly
"Seventy-eight more slices of low-key comedy... concerning the denizens of Pimlico's Corduroy Mansions and their lovers, friends and unavoidable relatives. Like Henry James, Smith clearly believes that relations stop nowhere; unlike James, he seems determined to trace every single one of them to its vanishing point." - Kirkus Reviews
"Originally commissioned by The Daily Telegraph as online reading, the Corduroy Mansions novels might not be that gripping, but they're long on charm and geniality." - Library Journal
"There is nothing very vital about The Dog but you cannot beat McCall Smith for subtle musings shot through with insight and wit." - The Telegraph (UK)
This information about The Dog Who Came in from the Cold was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Alexander McCall Smith began the now highly successful 'No 1 Ladies Detective
Agency' series in 1996, after being inspired by the sight of a 'traditionally
built' Botswanan lady chasing down a chicken for a meal. The first book in
the series - 'The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency' was published in the UK
in 1998 but didn't arrive in the USA until 2001.
Known to his friends as Sandy, McCall Smith describes the Botswanans as 'genuinely courteous people' He knows Botswana well as he grew up there and also spent several years on the law faculty of the University of Botswana;
his volume on the legal system of Botswana (The Criminal Law of Botswana) remains
the definitive and in fact, only book on the subject.
In 2004 he published the first in a...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Alexander Mccall Smith's Website
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
