The Great Hippopotamus Hotel – Alexander McCall Smith

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith, the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is a very popular series of books.  The series initially took time to gain recognition in the USA. It has now sold millions of copies worldwide, with new books eagerly awaited by fans.

The first book was published in 1998 and told the story of Mma Precious Ramotswe.  She is the daughter of Obed Ramotswe and, on his death, moved to the capital of Botswana, Gaborone, to set up The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  It is number 1 because it is the only one and, although it is a detective agency run by women, it is not a detective agency solely for women.

Main Characters: Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi

Mma Ramotswe and her assistant – who becomes her partner at the agency, Mma Grace Makutsi, solve all sorts of problems brought to them and these range from infidelity, domestic violence, kidnapping and more.  The stories deal with issues which not only tell the stories of the characters in the books, but also tell the stories of modern Botswana.

The Impact of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency has made Botswana known to readers of popular fiction in a way that few other countries, and certainly African countries, have become known.  This is strange that they are books written by a Scottish legal scholar and professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh University.

Sir Alexander McCall Smith was born in Southern Rhodesia and spent his early life in southern Africa before leaving to pursue his education and academic career in the UK.  He clearly kept his love of Africa and African people.  Although he has written other series of novels, Scotland Street for example, it is his series about an obscure detective agency in Botswana which became and remains the most popular.

Character Dynamics and Development

The series is driven by a well-drawn cast of characters that readers either love or hate. At the center is Mma Ramotswe. (Mma is a Setswana term meaning “mother” or “woman,” used as a respectful title akin to “Mrs.” or “Ms.” in English. It acknowledges a woman’s status in society.)

Alongside her is Grace Makutsi, as well as Charlie and Fanwell, who work for Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni. Violet Sephotho, Grace Makutsi’s arch-enemy from the Botswana Secretarial School (where she famously scored 97% in her final exams), plays the villain in many of the series’ evil schemes.

Key Relationships and Personal Tragedies

In the first book, Precious Ramotswe marries Note Mokoti, a talented but flawed trumpet player. They have a child, who tragically dies. This personal loss is a sad note that echoes throughout the series. Although children are frequently mentioned, they are not central to most stories. Mma Ramotswe and her husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, adopt two children and are frequent visitors to the Orphan Farm, run by Mma Ramotswe’s friend Mma Potokwani.

Supporting Characters and Their Influence

A wide array of additional characters fill out the series. Charlie, a failed apprentice mechanic, becomes a part-time assistant to Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. Rhudi Radiphuti, who runs a furniture store, marries Grace Makutsi. Clovis Anderson, the author of The Principles of Private Detection, acts as an ongoing influence through his book. His life in the USA allows McCall Smith to draw comparisons between life in Botswana and the United States.

Botswana as a Backdrop for Modern Issues

The characters in the series, both young and old, male and female, rural and urban, African and non-African, provide a broad canvas for storytelling. Through their interactions, the stories interweave modern issues facing Botswana. With the guidance of her late father, Obed Ramotswe, Precious Ramotswe is able to confront and resolve many of these challenges.

Themes and Plot of The Great Hippopotamus Hotel

There are 25 books in the series.  The titles of these books are, themselves a joy:  Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, The Handsome Man’s De Luxe Café, A Song of Comfortable Chairs.

The latest of these is The Great Hippopotamus Hotel.  Outside of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, there lies the Great Hippopotamus Hotel.  It is a popular and successful place for tourists to stay, until things start to go wrong.  It is then that The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency becomes involved.  Something foul is afoot and it requires someone with insight and perception to work out what is going wrong.  There are bad people, and these people need to be brought to heel.

It would be impossible to say too much about the story without giving away the plot, but it repeats the same themes which the previous 24 books have centred on.  These are honesty and decency, greed and generosity and love.  It is easy to understand why the whole series has become so popular.

At the same time, it makes it difficult to understand why, after a pilot episode and one six-part series, HBO decided not to continue producing this.  

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel is just like the other 24 books in the series, but it is still worth a read when you want to relax and feel you need to see something good in the world.