I do enjoy references to real locations and real 'things' in novels, and Alexander McCall Smith's work is a particularly good source of these. His Edinburgh books are full of places and people I know, and that familiarity adds another dimension of interest, though of course the books appeal just as much to readers who know nothing about the city and its residents.
His new London novel, Corduroy Mansions, is equally fertile ground, sending me off on pleasant digressions as I read. So here, just for fun and in no particular order, is a glimpse of the wider world of the book.
Barbara Ragg and the ghastly Oedipus Snark spend a night at The Mermaid Inn in Rye (with memorable consequences), and mention is made of erstwhile locals Henry James and E. F. Benson.
Impending rain means Jenny pops into Daylesford Organic for a well-earned break from the said Oedipus and samples tea from Henrietta Lovell of The Rare Tea Company (I'd like to try this!), and she contemplates also a walk up to Hatchards to turn a book token sent by her aunt into several hardbacks.
Meanwhile, William is out buying Belgian shoes, but they are not his only indulgence for he admits to having a made to measure pair from Lobb.
Less expensive, but I'm sure equally agreeable - though a more transient pleasure - are Nigella's Lemon gems (from How to be a Domestic Goddess) which Caroline and James make when the mood for baked goods suddenly strikes them!
