'Von Igelfeld gave the dog a further push. The wheel now refused to go round at all, so that the dog turned in little circles as it paddled with its remaining leg. The wheel needed oiling. But how to do that?'

Pride comes before a fall - but Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs and pillar of the Institute of Romance Philology in the Bavarian city of Regensburg, always knows best. How difficult can it be to scale a mountain or deliver an after-dinner talk to rowdy businessmen? More irksome are the undeserved rise of his rival (and owner of a one-legged dachshund) Unterholzer, and his colleagues' condescension over his unmarried state. So when a matchmaking friend produces a cheerful heiress with her own Schloss, finally it appears the professor's true worth is about to be recognised.

Discover the world of Alexander McCall Smith and his other books at www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk