Alexander McCall Smith Trivia

1. At the beginning of "The Charming Quirks of Others", Isabel asked Guy Peploe to bid on a painting for her. Why was she interested in the painting?

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Charming Quirks of Others"

Answer: It was a portrait of her ancestors.

The picture was a portrait by the artist Henry Raeburn, and it featured a young woman and her granddaughter. According to Isabel, the girl was her four-times great-grandmother. She told Guy that she was willing to pay up to 38,000 pounds for it.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Lost Art of Gratitude"

Answer: Olive

Charlie had unusual taste for a baby. He liked quiche and quail eggs, and he was particularly fond of olives. So perhaps it was not surprising that Charlie blurted out "olive" when Jamie was giving him a sliced olive one day.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Comforts of a Muddy Saturday"

Answer: He looked like Jamie.

His resemblance to Jamie caused Isabel some embarrassment when she mistook him for Jamie in the lobby after the performance. Before the concert, Jamie had told her that he didn't care for the piece that Nick Smart had written, and after the concert, Isabel began to tell him that she agreed with him before she realized she was talking to Nick. She quickly recovered and turned the comments into a compliment.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Careful Use of Compliments"

Answer: Charlie

Charlie was three months old. Although Isabel and Jamie hadn't married, Jamie was very much a hands-on father and usually was there in the evening to give Charlie his bath and his dinner. Jamie did ask Isabel to marry him, but Isabel didn't take the proposal seriously and told Jamie that they should wait and leave things as they were.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Right Attitude to Rain"

Answer: Texas

Isabel's cousin, Mimi, and Mimi's husband, Joe, had come for a month-long visit from Dallas, Texas. During that time, they all were invited to a house party at a manor rented by another couple from Dallas, who turned out to be the couple that Isabel had noticed at an art gallery. They had caught her attention because they had parked in a no-parking zone.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate"

Answer: Italy

Cat wanted to attend the wedding of a friend in Italy, and Isabel offered to fill in at the delicatessen while Cat was away. Isabel was concerned, however, that Cat's friend didn't know what business her fiancé was in; Isabel assumed it was the Mafia!

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Sunday Philosophy Club"

Answer: A man falling from the upper level of a theatre

Isabel was attending a concert, and as the crowd left the theatre, she stopped to chat with a friend. They both saw the young man "fall from the gods" and land on the ground level. He didn't survive the fall.

From Quiz Lost and Found in Scotland Street

Answer: Bruce Anderson

Bruce is a narcissistic young man who keeps himself fit. He is a keen rugby fan and on special occasions will wear a kilt (and thereby hangs a tale). Bruce shares a flat on the top floor of 44 Scotland Street with Pat Macgregor. "44 Scotland Street" was first published as a serial novel, in the tradition of Charles Dickens, in "The Scotsman".

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie's World

Answer: America

Isabel's mother's name was Hibby, and she was from Mobile, Alabama. She met Isabel's father when he was studying at Columbia Law School in New York. In "The Right Attitude to Rain" Hibby's cousin and her husband come to Scotland for a visit and stay with Isabel. She learns more about her mother than perhaps she wanted to know.

From Quiz At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

Answer: May 1

In the beginning of this story, it's Professor Von Igelfeld's birthday. He usually remembers it because it falls on the same day as May Day, so he decides to leave for work early and have an extra ten minute break. During this time, he sits in Professor Unterholzer's comfy chair in the coffee room. Since Von Igelfeld feels that he, as senior scholar, should receive the comfiest chair, and Unterholzer, whose work is rarely mentioned when referring to romance philology should not, he quickly snatches it before anyone else arrives. While reminiscing about the past years, Von Igelfeld's colleagues enter and seem to be shocked because he took the chair, but soon, they remember Von Igelfeld's birthday and decide that they don't mind. Von Igelfeld is relieved by this, and the group foolishly talks about barons and titles.

From Quiz The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

Answer: Arkansas

Prinzel gets an invitation to speak at a conference at the University of San Antonio. Von Igelfeld feels that this will change American views of Germans for the worse, so he plans to go to America before Prinzel and make sure that Americans feel good about Germans. Von Igelfeld plans to get an invite by contacting a local institute (as suggested by Unterholzer), and he is quickly set up as a guest speaker at a university in Fayetteville, Arkansas two weeks earlier than Prinzel's visit to Texas.

From Quiz Portuguese Irregular Verbs

Answer: Hedgehog

When Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld is introduced in the beginning of the story, we learn this interesting tidbit of information. According to the narrator, his last name technically means 'hedgehog field'. Of course, this isn't as embarrassing as the use of the word Amadeus in his colleague Professor Dr. Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer's name or the size of Unterholzer's nose. The third character introduced to the reader at the beginning of the novel is Professor Dr. Florianus Prinzel. When they arrive in Zürich to talk about Von Igelfeld's book, "Portuguese Irregular Verbs", the three decide to play a tennis match, so they quickly go over a rule book (which was evidently invented before the term 'tie breaker' was coined) and they decide to play. Actually, Unterholzer decides to be the referee while the other two send failing attempts to lob the ball over the net. Since no one can get two games ahead of the other (after all, they just keep alternately winning games by not actually serving the ball over the net), no one actually wins the match.

From Quiz The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Answer: Precious

Precious Ramotswe, a lady of 'traditional size', has a knack of solving her cases using innate common sense and a knowledge of human frailties and foibles - rather like Miss Marple, the famous sleuth created by Agatha Christie. However she also refers frequently to her 'Bible', Clovis Andersen's 'Principles of Private Detection', which she often quotes.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Charming Quirks of Others"

Answer: A scandal involving one of the candidates for the principal position

Jillian Mackinlay told Isabel that her husband Alex, who was one of the school board members, had received a letter that alluded to a scandal involving one of the candidates for the school principal position. There were three candidates, but the letter didn't specify which candidate was being accused. Jillian wanted Isabel to determine which candidate it was and what type of scandal was involved.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Lost Art of Gratitude"

Answer: Her son Roderick's birthday party

Minty ran into Isabel, Jamie and Charlie at a café and introduced them to her son, Roderick. She then invited them to Roderick's birthday party. Jamie wasn't very happy about it; he thought Roderick was a bully, and he didn't like Minty, but he went along anyway.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Comforts of a Muddy Saturday"

Answer: Christopher Dove

Christopher Dove had previously conspired with Professor Lettuce to replace Isabel as the editor of the "Review of Applied Ethics", and she kept her job by purchasing the journal. She received an article from him on the "Trolley Problem", which was a famous thought experiment in ethics: "a trolley car is careering out of control down a slope. Ahead of it on the line are five people who have been tied there by a mad philosopher. You, however, realise that by flicking a switch, you can divert the trolley onto a different track. There is one person standing on that track. Do you flick the switch?" Christopher Dove had modified the problem slightly in his article but not sufficiently enough for the two reviewers to whom Isabel had forwarded the manuscript. Based on their recommendations, she shouldn't have published the article, but she told Dove she would do so.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Careful Use of Compliments"

Answer: It wasn't varnished.

Guy Peploe, the director of the Scottish Gallery and a friend of Isabel, pointed out to Isabel that the painting was unvarnished, which was unusual because Andrew McInnes was fanatical about varnishing his paintings. Peploe told Isabel, however, that he was sure the painting was made by McInnes.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Right Attitude to Rain"

Answer: Bell's palsy

Isabel first noticed Tom Bruce and his fiancée Angie at an art gallery, and she remembered him because his face was distorted from Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis due to nerve damage. When Mimi had mentioned a house party to be given by a friend who suffered from Bell's palsy, Isabel immediately knew who it was.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate"

Answer: She was Isabel's age and was married.

When Jamie told Isabel that he was seeing someone, Isabel assumed it was the girl she had seen him with at the concert. She was shocked when he told her about Louise, and when Jamie brought Louise over to meet Isabel, Louise's attitude towards her irritated Isabel. So Isabel cattily asked Louise, "What does your husband do"?

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Sunday Philosophy Club"

Answer: Crushed strawberry corduroy trousers

When Cat, Isabel's niece, brought her boyfriend (later fiancé), Toby, to Isabel's house for dinner, he was wearing "crushed strawberry corduroy trousers", and for the rest of the book, whenever Isabel thought of Toby, she thought of those trousers. When she spotted him in town one day, he was wearing the same trousers, which is why she noticed him.

From Quiz Lost and Found in Scotland Street

Answer: Bertie Pollock

Bertie Pollock is only five years old but plays the saxophone ("As Time Goes By") and is fluent in Italian. His rebellion against his mother's high expectations of him results in visits to a psychotherapist. The Pollocks live at 44 Scotland Street on the floor below Bruce. "The World According to Bertie" is the fourth title in the Alexander McCall Smith's "44 Scotland Street" series.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie's World

Answer: Her brother's daughter

We learn from "The Careful Use of Compliments" that Isabel and her brother are estranged. I must admit that up to that point I'd thought he was dead.

From Quiz At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

Answer: Unterholzer

During the brief talk over coffee, Von Igelfeld's colleagues ask him if he's ever going to write an autobiography, but he decides that he'd like to go somewhere for a while. He thinks back and remembers Professor Zimmermann enjoying his trip to Cambridge and mentions this. Unterholzer takes this opportunity to call the German Scholarly Exchange Programme and book a six month trip for Von Igelfeld so that he can take his spacious office while he's away. Von Igelfeld arrives at Cambridge University and his porter immediately talks about ubiquitious things. Von Igelfeld determines that the English talk much differently than Germans, and half of the time, they make foolish comments that can't be taken seriously. After briefly talking about his old schoolmate and Sigmund Freud, Von Igelfeld witnesses the porter crying about how much he needs to do in life before being shown his room. He has a view of the courtyard, but there's no washroom in the room. The porter tells him that he has to share a bathroom with one other individual on the floor, Professor Waterfield. Von Igelfeld decides that he needs to explain to Waterfield that he shall be in control of the washroom at most times.

From Quiz The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

Answer: Professor Igelfold

When Von Igelfeld arrives in Arkansas, he stays with Professor R. B. Leflar. Before the conference, Leflar takes Von Igelfeld around Arkansas visiting farms filled with pigs and chickens in order to talk about their diets. Von Igelfeld finds this odd, but he decides that it's okay since he's never experienced American culture. At the conference, he is asked about his upcoming talk about sausage dogs, and he realizes that the institute that set up the talk made a mistake with his name. Everyone thought he was the late Professor Igelfold, the world's leading expert on the sausage dog. With fifteen minutes before his talk, he was nervous, but he pulled it together with useless information about sausage dogs. Surprisingly, the audience was thrilled with the easy-to-understand information and the ideas that 'Igelfold' had about sausage dogs. He was even invited back for another talk.

From Quiz Portuguese Irregular Verbs

Answer: Fencing

Back at the old school in Heidelberg, Germany, Von Igelfeld met Prinzel and instantly admired him. He always imagined a friend that could not only be a great scholar, but who could be a gifted athlete. While talking to some other scholars, Von Igelfeld organized a fencing duel between Prinzel and another student. Prinzel agreed to this, but during the duel, he couldn't even get a swipe in. The other student had managed to quickly slice off the tip of Prinzel's nose. Luckily, he made it to the hospital in time where a doctor smelling of whiskey operated on him and mended his nose. Von Igelfeld always noticed that the tip of Prinzel's nose was placed back on upside-down.

From Quiz The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Answer: Botswana

Details of life in Botswana are described frequently in the stories, giving a fascinating insight into a country which is not generally well known.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Charming Quirks of Others"

Answer: Told her that he would review Christopher Dove's book

Christopher Dove had written a book, and Professor Lettuce had sent a copy to Isabel along with a note telling her that he would write a review of it. This had infuriated Isabel as it was up to her to decide which books to review and to ask a peer to write a review. She was torn on whether to accept his review as she didn't want to appear to be petty by rejecting it. Ultimately, Dove and Lettuce had a falling out, and Lettuce wrote a rather scathing review of Dove's book. This allowed Isabel to turn down the review by stating she didn't want to be a part of their bickering.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "The Lost Art of Gratitude"

Answer: Help her deal with Roderick's father

Minty had invited Isabel to Roderick's party so that she could talk to her about a problem. It turned out that Roderick wasn't Minty's husband's son but rather he was the result of an affair she had had. Now Jock, Roderick's father, wanted to be a part of his son's life, and Minty was scared that her husband would find out about it, so she wanted Isabel to talk with Jock to get him to change his mind.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Comforts of a Muddy Saturday"

Answer: Sri Lanka

Cat asked Isabel if she would work at the deli for ten days while Cat went to Sri Lanka with a friend. When she returned, she told Isabel that she had met a man there and had decided to move there, at least for a while, and she was going to hire someone to manage the deli while she was gone. However, the relationship soon ended, and Cat decided to stay in Edinburgh.

From Quiz Isabel Dalhousie: "Careful Use of Compliments"

Answer: He had drowned in a whirlpool.

Just before his death, Andrew McInnes's paintings had recently been trashed by some London critics, and he had found out that his wife was having an affair. This had led to suspicions that his drowning was actually a suicide rather than accidental.

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Last Updated Apr 25 2026 5:49 AM

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