THE NO1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES SERIES

Then he told me the story which inspired me to create the character of Puso and his sister Motheleli in the books. He pointed out to me a small boy standing aside from the others, a boy of about five or so and with the lighter complexion and very striking facial features of those who have Bushman blood.

Betty is a great woman – somebody who has given over her life to making children happy in the face of an unhappy start in this life. In the books, Mma Potokwane, who is inspired by Betty, is a consummate producer, and consumer, of fruit cake. She was a matron of the sort long since abolished in Britain she would have given Hattie Jacques a run for her money and she was, moreover, a great baker of fruit cake. When I first visited the village, the matron of the children's home – in real life – was a very traditionally-built lady by the name of Betty. There is always something bubbling away on the stove, no matter the time of day. As you enter each house, your are immediately struck by two things – the highly-polished floors and the smell of cooking. The children's village on which I based the fictional orphan farm is an attractive collection of small cottages, each of which is run by a house mother. The SOS organisation operates all over the world – in Botswana it has three centres for which, because of the AIDS epidemic, there is a growing demand. In particular, the matron of what is called the Orphan Farm in the books, is a real matron whom I met when I used to visit the SOS Children's Village in Tlokweng, just outside Gaborone. Other real people who appear in the books are less well-known but are every bit as remarkable in their way. I never met Sereste Khama, but I did meet the other two presidents, both of whom have been most generous about the books and both of whom have not objected to entering into Mma Ramotswe's world. Sir Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president, was mentioned, as were his successors, President Masire and President Mogae. Some of these were public figures who might not be surprised to find themselves in the pages of fiction as well as the pages of history. With this precedent, the way was set for other real people to make their appearance.

This was corrected in subsequent instalments, and Mma Ramotswe now took to having tea with Fiona Moffat in the garden of their house in Gaborone and the conversation on these occasions was extensive. After the publication of the first two books, Howard's wife, Fiona, pointed out to me that while Howard was given something to say, she was not. So when it came to describing the illness sof Mma Ramotswe's father, Obed Ramotswe, it was natural that the doctor who should look after him should be Howard Moffat. It was while I was staying in the early Eighties with the Moffats in Mochudi that I first conceived of the idea of writing a story about Botswana. He is a direct descendant of the Scottish missionary, Robert Moffat, who in the early years of the nineteenth century set up the mission at Kuruman in the Northern Cape. Howard is a doctor who has served Botswana well over many years.

THE NO1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES SERIES

Howard and Fiona Moffat have made the most persistent appearances in the stories, cropping up, as themselves, in every volume and assured of a place until the series eventually comes to an end.

The no1 ladies detective agency series