Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
 UK first edition | |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
| Series | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #10 |
| Genre | Detective, Mystery novel |
| Published | 2009 Little, Brown |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback), Audio (CD) |
| Preceded by | The Miracle at Speedy Motors |
| Followed by | The Double Comfort Safari Club |
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, published in 2009, is the tenth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Gaborone, Botswana, and featuring the Motswana protagonist Precious Ramotswe.
Plot summary
Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi agree that there are things that men know and ladies do not, and vice versa. The glamorous Violet Sephotho sets her sights on Mma Makutsi's unsuspecting fiancé and it becomes clear that some men do not know how to recognise a ruthless Jezebel even when she is bouncing up and down on the best bed in the Double Comfort Furniture Shop.
In her attempt to foster understanding between the sexes and find the traitor on Mr Football's team, Mma Ramotswe ventures into new territory, with the help of an observant small boy.
Cases
Mma Ramotswe's newest client is the big-shot owner of the ailing football club, the Kalahari Swoopers, but the lady detectives know very little about football.
Subplots
Mma Ramotswe's old white van is dying. She is not ready to give up on it. JLB gets her a new, but boring, van and as grateful as she is, she sets out to find her old van. But to make this complicated her van was stolen from the buyer, making it harder to find.
Themes
This novel is concerned with themes of loyalty, relations between the sexes and often the need to dig deep to uncover the goodness of the human heart.
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Novels by Alexander McCall Smith
Detective Agency
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998)
- Tears of the Giraffe (2000)
- Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002)
- The Full Cupboard of Life (2003)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004)
- Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006)
- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007)
- The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)
- Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
- The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
- The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (2011)
- The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (2012)
- The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (2013)
- The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café (2014)
- The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine (2015)
- Precious and Grace (2016)
- The House of Unexpected Sisters (2017)
- The Colours of all the Cattle (2018)
- To the Land of Long Lost Friends (2019)
- How to Raise an Elephant (2020)
- The Joy and Light Bus Company (2021)
- A Song of Comfortable Chairs (2022)
- From a Far and Lovely Country (2023)
Entertainments
- Portuguese Irregular Verbs (1997)
- The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (2003)
- At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances (2003)
- The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom (2004)
- Unusual Uses for Olive Oil (2011)
- Your Inner Hedgehog (2021)
Philosophy Club
- The Sunday Philosophy Club (2004)
- Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (2005)
- The Right Attitude to Rain (2006)
- The Careful Use of Compliments (2007)
- The Comfort of Saturdays (2008)
- The Lost Art of Gratitude (2009)
- The Charming Quirks of Others (2010)
- The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (2011)
- The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (2012)
- The Novel Habits of Happiness (2015)
- At the Reunion Buffet (2015)
- Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine (2016)
- A Distant View of Everything (2017)
- The Quiet Side of Passion (2018)
- The Geometry of Holding Hands (2020)
- The Sweet Remnants of Summer (2022)
- The Conditions of Unconditional Love (2024)
- 44 Scotland Street (2004)
- Espresso Tales (2005)
- Love Over Scotland (2006)
- The World According to Bertie (2007)
- The Unbearable Lightness of Scones (2008)
- The Importance of Being Seven (2010)
- Bertie Plays the Blues (2011)
- Sunshine on Scotland Street (2012)
- Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers (2013)
- The Revolving Door of Life (2015)
- The Bertie Project (2016)
- A Time of Love and Tartan (2017)
- The Peppermint Tea Chronicles (2019)
- A Promise of Ankles (2020)
- Love in the Time of Bertie (2021)
- The Enigma of Garlic (2022)
- The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee (2023)
- Corduroy Mansions (2009)
- The Dog Who Came in from the Cold (2010)
- A Conspiracy of Friends (2011)
- My Italian Bulldoze (2016)
- The Second Worst Restaurant in France (2019)
- The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists (2019)
- The Department of Sensitive Crimes (2019)
- Varg in Love (2019)
- The Talented Mr. Varg (2020)
- The Man with the Silver Saab (2021)
- The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf (2023)
- La's Orchestra Saves the World (2008)
- Trains and Lovers (2012)
- The Forever Girl (2014)
- Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party (2014)
- Emma: A Modern Retelling (2015)
- The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse (2017)
- The Pavilion in the Clouds (2022)
- The Private Life of Spies (2023)
- The Love Story of Herb la Fouche (2024)
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series) (2008)
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (radio series) (2004–2019)
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