Talk:The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Untitled
Hi everyone I was wondering if anyone remembered who mma molotsi is —Preceding unsigned comment added by Squeejybeckenheimer (talk • contribs) 16:06, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

Series recommended for middle school curriculum
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency has caught my interest as a teacher. I've read the first three novels and will probably finish the series this summer. They can be purchased locally for as little as $10.00 Canadian, and are listed at bookstores at about $18.00.

I am thinking of getting my grade eight classes to buy the first book as an Independent Activity. We need more books about other countries and about women, and this title covers both needs admirably. The simplicity of tone is useful as a writing technique, and the ability to convey much more about human nature than the words themselves imply is a good lesson in writing and thinking, too.

What do you think? -- Jim Ison, Surrey, BC, Canada


 * I agree completely. I must admit I'm not a big fan of literature about other cultures, but I really enjoyed this series. It also touches on many issues which could be studied alongside the books. Good luck! -- Hesperus
 * I agree as well. The outstanding virtue of this series, to me, is the charming politeness that the characters show to one another. 173.174.85.204 (talk) 18:13, 21 March 2017 (UTC) Eric

I dissagree. Dont make your 8th graders read this book. they all will go to sparknotes or some site like that.
 * By that logic you shouldn't make them read anything. Seriously, what kind of argument are you trying to make?108.59.48.1 (talk) 15:42, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

name changing
I think the article names should be changed like this
 * The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to -> The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (series)
 * and

--Melaen 18:38, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
 * The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency (book) to -> The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency


 * Disagree: The present version of the two pages' names—i.e. the series unmarked, and the first volume with (novel) appended to the title—is sufficiently clear and as far as I know, not inconsistent with Wikipedia style. Furthermore, recent work on these pages and others in the series (since the above comment was posted) have used the present version for crossreferencing. -- Deborahjay 19:18, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree with . The word Series, not in parentheses needs to be the last word of the title of this article, which is too confusing as it is, even with the see also at the top of the article; that does not help in a google search. That is, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
 * Two other book series that come to mind have a different title for the series than for the first book; one series article is the Aubrey–Maturin series and the other is The Cadfael Chronicles, in each case clear that is the series and not the first book, or any single book in the series. I would make the change now, if I knew how to change the article title. I did change the title in the infobox, adding the word series. Not seeing this discussion right away, I added a new section at the end of the page on this same topic. --Prairieplant (talk) 08:11, 28 November 2016 (UTC)

Summarizing Ideas and Information
Hi

I also like the "The 1st Lady Detective Agency" series and would like to contribute. My idea is to locate the series a bit more in the literature about novels by following the Wikipedia stated goal of "summarizing ideas and information that have already been published elsewhere."

I got interested in doing this after seeing the analysis and article done on the book in the Gale Literary Databases (available through most libraries.) I think there are other sources as well that are fairly easy to access.

Soooo.... what do you think of what I propose? -- Delancy 03:16, 21 October 2006 (UTC)


 * It's certainly appropriate to cite pertinent published sources (Web and print) and add a References section on the series page and the individual pages for each novel. -- Deborahjay 19:26, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Feature film?
The article in its current form mentions a TV series, but does not mention a film that was reported by the government of Botswana to be filming there in mid-2007 (see this link for the government report of filming). We need to make sure we are accurate and comprehensive in our info if there is a feature film already in production.Lawikitejana (talk) 16:36, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

After death of A.Minghella and showing of movie The production was broadcast on Easter Sunday 23rd March 2008 on BBC1. It is listed as completed by IMDb (on this page), where it has all the hallmarks of a motion picture, not the pilot of a TV series, although it was made by BBC, HBO, because others listed as involved are:
 * Film Afrika Worldwide
 * Mirage Enterprises
 * Weinstein Company, The

Now, this was very much the last completed brainchild of Anthony Minghella. Many movies he made were written off as impossible to adapt for the cinema until he tackled them. Given that he died last Tuesday, I would suggest the chances of any others in the book series being adapted are a bit reduced even though Richard Curtis was also involved unless he wants to press ahead now, maybe taking over directing them (this is just speculation now). Iph (talk) 19:20, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Further note: IMDb does not have any other production listing in progress for Alexander McCall Smith. It follows that no other book in the series has started production yet, which would generally be the case if the completed and broadcast title was to be considered as a TV drama series. Therefore we should regard the adaptation of the first book as a feature motion picture, not a series pilot.

Any effect on tourism to Botswana?
I can't help wondering if the popularity of the books has resulted in more tourism to Botswana. (I'd go if I could afford it.)--Tyranny Sue (talk) 06:47, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

Future for the series?
Does anyone know if this series will be renewed?Affable Max (talk) 10:33, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, The Double Comfort Safari Club came out in 2010 and The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party is planned for release in March 2011 (hardcover is ISBN 1408702584). --Marc Kupper&#124;talk 04:25, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

No 1 Ladies’ Scots accent
--Mais oui! (talk) 07:16, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
 * "The next instalment in Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is to be published first in the Scots tongue. Readers of English and other languages will have to wait until 2011 before they can read the latest exploits of Precious Ramotswe, the Botswanan gumshoe."

Radio series
The 21st radio series episode is labelled "The Double Comfort Safari Club". I've recently heard it on a Radio 4 repeat, and both the webpage (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w7f87) and the audio itself refer to the episode with the title "Canoeing for Ladies".

Should this be changed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.27.188.214 (talk) 08:58, 14 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes. As I recall the BBC web site was missing the title of this play when I added it here in 2011, so I assumed it had taken the title of the book. It seems the BBC web site has been corrected for the repeat, so I will change accordingly.


 * Jim Craigie (talk) 19:59, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

Could there be a link for what "Mma" means please?
I know it is pronounced "Mamma"/"Momma", but does anyone know what it means please? Is it simply a form of address like "Ms.", or does it mean "Mother", with the assumption that all adult women should be addressed like that?


 * Responding to above unsigned question, get the audio book to learn how to say Mma and Ra, which are the honorifics for women and men, respectively, in Botswana. It is not momma. And do sign your posts in future please. --Prairieplant (talk) 14:58, 26 February 2016 (UTC)


 * It's a good point, though; they are unusual terms which could trip up a reader. I've added a sentence in the introduction to explain them, although expansion would be helpful. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 19:04, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

Needs section on Literary significance or Reception of the series
There are many articles on line about the series of novels, reviewing them all at once. Perhaps a section like that would fill out this rather bare article on a popular series of novels by a prolific author. --Prairieplant (talk) 14:58, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

Need to clarify title of Novel article and series article
I just discovered that the article about the novel has (novel) after the name, but series is not at the end of this title, so I will try to add it. Then perhaps novel could be removed from the article about the novel? When I searched for the article on the novel, I got this, not where I wanted to be. I put text here meant for the novel, and I will move that now. --Prairieplant (talk) 07:48, 28 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Ah, I saw the discussion on this topic above and have put my vote in to change the title of this article, adding the word series at the end of it. Already done in the infobox. --Prairieplant (talk) 08:12, 28 November 2016 (UTC)

Audio books - Lisette Lecat
e. Lisette Lecat      IvyRabbit (talk) 06:21, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Sorry, my keyboard had gone wacky when I started this discussion. What I meant to say was that this page needs some information regarding the audio books. Lisette Lecat is a marvelous narrator and even voices characters of all genders and nationalities in a way that is believable and natural. The audio books are delightful. Perhaps there is someone with more knowledge than I have who is willing to add this information? IvyRabbit (talk) 06:32, 11 December 2016 (UTC)


 * Be bold! Add mention in the Publication history section. There may be reviews mentioning her audio books and quality of speaking like a Motswana, which will provide evidence that more than you and I find her audio versions to be excellent. The ISBN for the audio book can be found at Fantastic Fiction, also worth including in a short paragraph.  --Prairieplant (talk) 08:54, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Reception in Botswana?
I've never seen much about how these books ar regarded in Botswana, aside from being a prod to tourism. If anybody could include something with good references, it would help the article immensely. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 23:13, 5 February 2023 (UTC)