The Private Side of Friendship :A Standalone Novel
The Private Side of Friendship :A Standalone Novel
hardback
Published:
2 October, 2025
Popular Books by Alexander McCall Smith
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Description
Six friends. One city. The time of their lives.
It’s 1988, and on the verge of a reunion with friends she hasn’t seen since graduation, Julie recalls her halcyon student days of 1984 and the strange tumultuous time they lived through.
The friends – each from a very different background – are living in a gorgeous terraced flat in their Edinburgh idyll. As they navigate relationships and the unspoken rules of flat sharing, the troubled world all around them seems rather distant. But in the nearby hometown of one of the flatmates, the Miners' Strike is bringing about a huge political shift.
Despite their differences, can these six strangers help each other see the world from a different perspective? Is there such a thing as being too close? And what are the limits of love between friends?
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781846977299 |
| ISBN10 | 1846977290 |
| Number Of Pages | 272 |
| Item Weight | 392 g |
| Product Dimensions | 135 x 216 x 18 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Birlinn General |
| Format | hardback |
Media Reviews
'Pushing into new territory ... [a] typically thoughtful and entertaining novel'
* The Scotsman *'Warm, uplifting, and totally compelling, I couldn’t put it down. Perfect for curling up with a hot chocolate and a slice of cake on a chilly evening, it’s guaranteed to lift your mood'
* Sixty Plus Surfers *'a sweet novel infused with a love of the Athens of the North'
* Saga Magazine *'One of the world's best known authors, takes readers to a city he knows very well – as six young Edinburgh students embark on a flatshare and navigate new friendships against the backdrop of social unrest of the 1980s miners’ strikes'
* BBC Radio 4 Take 4 Books *'A gentle read with an insightful look at friendships established during what is for many people a formative stage of their lives'
* Portobello Book Blog *GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.