In this profile, the bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series recounts the creation of his popular Botswanan sleuth.

In 1998, Mma Precious Ramotswe made her debut in Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The Plain Dealer hailed the novel as “One of the best, most charming, honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years.” Decades and many books later, Precious has her own bestselling series, but readers may be wondering how exactly this beloved character came to be.

In this profile, the prolific McCall Smith offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of his delightful detective. He recounts his childhood spent in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and working in Botswana in the 1980s. He reveals the inspiration for Precious and discusses the experience of creating the first book and getting it published. Those and other tales are sure to entertain fans of Precious old and new.