1
of
1
The Private Side of Friendship
A Standalone Novel
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 35 ratings, 4 reviews)
Brief 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...
Read More
Format: Hardback
$4000
$4499
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Private Side of Friendship
$4000
$4499
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Vanya Insull (aka VJ Cooks) visits Book Hero
We were lucky to have a visit from popular foodie, home cook and baker Vanya...
Is the newest Jack Reacher one of the best?
Our favourite crime solving, bad guy beating nomad is back and Lizzy and Edd were...
Heartstopper's Alice Oseman visits Book Hero
We were so excited to have Alice come to visit Hero HQ, as huge fans...
Shirl and Lizzy Review The Starving Bride
Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (19th October)
One of my favourite sci-fi authors has a new book that I cannot wait to...
See moreEdinburgh, 1984. Six students are facing the end of an academic year, preparing to go their separate ways in a changing world. Years later, they meet for a reunion, for what may well betheir last evening together. It soon becomes clear to all that sometimes you have to let go of the past. You take away its lessons, but you let the rest go.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
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?
The Private Side of Friendship by Alexander McCall Smith invites readers to explore these questions through a nostalgic and insightful lens.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781846977299
Publisher: Birlinn General
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 02 October 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 392g
Pages: 272
About the Author
Alexander McCall Smithis the author of the highly successfulNo. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries, 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 the44 Scotland Streetnovels, first published as a serial novel in theScotsman, theIsabel Dalhousienovels, theVon Igelfeldseries and theCorduroy Mansionsnovels.
Also by Alexander McCall Smith
View all-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Wayward daughters. Missing husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple, but she's got warmth, wit, and canny intuition on her side,...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
16% offThe Full Cupboard Of Life
The Full Cupboard Of Life continues the delightful story of Mma Ramotswe, who remains engaged to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni following the events of the first book. Yet, she finds herself pondering when a date for the wedding will finally be set, all the while being careful not to exert too much pressure on her fiancé. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, however, has...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
16% off
The Miracle At Speedy Motors
BOOK 9 IN THE BELOVED NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one with the poison pen letter . . . For the first time in her career as Botswana's no. 1 lady detective, Mma Ramotswe suffers a blow to her faith in the goodness of humanity (and of her neighbours in particular) when she receives a threatening letter. But she...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Tea Time For The Traditionally Built
BOOK 10 IN THE BELOVED NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one where Mma Makutsi has a love rival . . . Mma Makutsi's engagement to Phuti Radiphuti has progressed smoothly so far, but suddenly there is trouble in the form of her glamorous, empty-headed rival Violet Sephotho. While solving the amorous problems of her neighbours and clients is where...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
As Botswana awaits the familiar blessing of the rains and the resumption of the eternal cycle, seismic upheaval is taking place at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Not only is Mr J. L. B. Matekoni attempting to reform himself into a modern husband, but after her marriage to Phuti Radiphuti, Mma Ramotswe's challenging but irreplaceable associate Mma Makutsi has...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Limpopo Academy Of Private Detection
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have always relied on the advice of the classic guide to their trade, The Principles of Private Detection. But who is the eminent author, Mr Clovis Andersen, and what if he were to come to Botswana? That seems a very unlikely possibility, and yet... When Mr Andersen visits Botswana on holiday, he is delighted and...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
16% off
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
As the countdown to Mma Makutsi's wedding begins, all is not as it should be at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. While investigating unpleasant occurrences on a southern cattle-post, Mma Ramotswe, always on the side of the weak against the strong, has reason to reflect on Rule No.3 of The Principles of Private Detection: never lie to the client. Apprentice...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café
Even the arrival of her baby can't hold Mma Makutsi back from success in the workplace. No sooner does she become a full partner in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency—despite Mma Ramotswe's belated claims that she is only 'an assistant full partner'—she also launches a new enterprise of her own: The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café. Grace Makutsi is...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Precious and Grace
Precious and Grace is the seventeenth book in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The one with the woman who lost her past . . . Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi's friendship is tested by a curious case: a client who left Botswana thirty years ago and remembers little of her past. The quest for the truth takes...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Colours of all the Cattle
The nineteenth book in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series The one with the election . . . When Ramotswe enters politics to oppose the construction of the dubious-sounding 'Big Fun Hotel', her opponent turns out to be local troublemaker, Violet Sephotho. But the general air of excitement cannot eclipse important matters of detection. Charlie, assigned a mysterious...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Joy and Light Bus Company
Catch up on the latest from Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, and other favourites in this new instalment of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. "Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation" - Mail on Sunday Mma Ramotswe knows she is very lucky indeed. She has a loving family, good friends, and a thriving business doing what she...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
A Song of Comfortable Chairs
THE ONE WHERE MMA POTOKWANI SAVES THE DAY A Song of Comfortable Chairs follows Grace Makutsi's husband, Phuti, who finds himself in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market, and their slick new advertising campaign seems hard to beat. With Mma Ramotswe's help, however, Phuti devises a campaign that may just...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
More from Historical Fiction
View all-
New ReleaseThe Piano Teacher of Montparnasse
In 1942, the Nazis came for a Jewish family living in Montparnasse, occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, the eleven-year-old daughter fled to the only person she trusted: her piano teacher... The author of the international bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times....Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Parisian Chapter
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and The Librarians of Rue de Picardie comes a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and writes her own Parisian chapter.'Stirring and rich with detail' New York Times...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
13% offInferno
AD 60. Nero Claudius Caesar is Emperor. He is feared for his temper. He is known to be intoxicated by the power he wields. And why not? The Roman Empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia. Nero is god of all he surveys. Yet dangerous traitors lie close at hand. Generals commanding legions. Senators whispering...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
13% offCircle of Days
From the master of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his...Hardback$3900Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Soldier's Daughter
The heart-stopping new blockbuster by the bestselling author of The Fallen Woman. Violet Nash has grown up in the shadows of her father Charlie's shattered dreams. It's been years since he walked away from the battlefields of France, a WWI hero but his heart in tatters, only to see it broken all over again in the worst way possible. In...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Girl with the Suitcase
The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author. London 1941 When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth, she realises their lives couldn't be more different. But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground, Mary's life is set to change forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Lost Bookshop
Evie Woods' stunning new novel The Story Collector is available now. The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
All the Diamonds in Paris
Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
19% offThe Listeners
‘By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling’ CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss'...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Atmosphere
The new novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle programme and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits. In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a brilliantly crafted retelling of the ancient Greek epic of Achilles and Patroclus, transforming the classical myth into a profoundly moving love story. Set against the richly depicted backdrop of Greece during the heroically tumultuous age, the narrative follows Patroclus, an awkward and exiled young prince, who is taken to the court...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Cardinal
Step into the thrill and intrigue of Tudor England in the rich, compelling new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Alison Weir. Alison Weir makes history come alive as no one else BARBARA ERSKINE AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE TO POWER. A TRAGIC FALL FROM GRACE. It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to...Paperback$3300Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Historical Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
