Author Sir Alexander McCall Smith has said his knighthood is a “wonderful thing” and that his famous fictional detective Mma Precious Ramotswe would be “very happy” for him after being honoured by the King. The writer was knighted for services to literature, academia and charity at an investiture ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Tuesday. Sir Alexander is the creator of The No.
1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and he has written and contributed to more than 100 books including short story collections, children’s books and specialist academic titles. The detective agency series, set in Botswana and featuring the detective Mma Ramotswe, has now sold more than 20 million copies in the English language alone. The author, an emeritus professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, is also known for series including the 44 Scotland Street novels, the Isabel Dalhousie collection, and the von Igelfeld books.
Speaking after the ceremony, he said: “It’s a wonderful thing, I’m most grateful, it’s a very nice thing to happen so I’m very pleased, but of course obviously behind it there are all sorts of other people who have made it happen so I think of them.” Asked what Mma Ramotswe would think about the knighthood, he said: “Well I think Mma Ramotswe would be very pleased, she likes jewellery and decorations and she’d say that’s rather a nice badge you’ve got there, so she would be very happy I think, it’s been a long jour.
