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Portuguese Irregular Verbs #6
The Lost Language of Oysters
Not yet published
Expected 3 Feb 26The latest book in Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and hilarious Professor von Igelfeld series
Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is not just any German professor - he is the author of that great work of scholarship, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. His eminence in language studies is widely recognised, even if it is rarely acknowledged by his colleague, Professor Detlev-Amadeus Unterholzer, author of a much less important work on the subjunctive. Their rivalry bubbles away under the surface, but is apt to come into the open if something unusual disturbs the calm waters of the institute in Regensburg in which they both work.
One such event is the arrival from New Orleans of two visiting scholars. These ladies, Professor Pom Pom Boisseau, and her friend, Professor Alice Martinique, are both experts in the Provençal language as well as being keen bikers. When they choose to arrive on large, noisy motorbikes, Unterholzer is shocked, but von Igelfeld is rather taken with Pom Pom. In fact, he is very taken with her, even to the extent of going for a ride with her on her motorbike.
Anybody can tell that this infatuation will lead to disappointment, if not worse. But for von Igelfeld, disasters often arrive in twos and threes. The great professor is invited to attend a student occasion in which the old habit of duelling rears its head. He is handed a sword...
Von Igelfeld may suffer humiliation after humiliation, but at the end of it all there is the promise of a visit to Louisiana, a culinary paradise, where important research is being undertaken into communication among oysters...
Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is not just any German professor - he is the author of that great work of scholarship, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. His eminence in language studies is widely recognised, even if it is rarely acknowledged by his colleague, Professor Detlev-Amadeus Unterholzer, author of a much less important work on the subjunctive. Their rivalry bubbles away under the surface, but is apt to come into the open if something unusual disturbs the calm waters of the institute in Regensburg in which they both work.
One such event is the arrival from New Orleans of two visiting scholars. These ladies, Professor Pom Pom Boisseau, and her friend, Professor Alice Martinique, are both experts in the Provençal language as well as being keen bikers. When they choose to arrive on large, noisy motorbikes, Unterholzer is shocked, but von Igelfeld is rather taken with Pom Pom. In fact, he is very taken with her, even to the extent of going for a ride with her on her motorbike.
Anybody can tell that this infatuation will lead to disappointment, if not worse. But for von Igelfeld, disasters often arrive in twos and threes. The great professor is invited to attend a student occasion in which the old habit of duelling rears its head. He is handed a sword...
Von Igelfeld may suffer humiliation after humiliation, but at the end of it all there is the promise of a visit to Louisiana, a culinary paradise, where important research is being undertaken into communication among oysters...
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication February 3, 2026
25 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
668 books12.7k followersAlexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 10, 2025
The latest episode in the life of Professor von Igenfeld at the Institute where he works in Regensburg. Two visiting scholars from New Orleans provide lots of entertainment especially as they are women as well as being keen bikers. Von Igenfeld even goes so far as to have a ride on the back of Professor Pom Pom Boisseaus' motor bike. Several uncomfortable events occur to upset von Igenfeld but by the end of the book he has recovered and is looking forward to a visit to Louisiana.
The story is about linguistics but I was mostly amazed by the author's own language skills. His prose is a joy to read and his knowledge of everything and anything is quite staggering. At only 226 pages this is a little gem of a book. Five stars!
The story is about linguistics but I was mostly amazed by the author's own language skills. His prose is a joy to read and his knowledge of everything and anything is quite staggering. At only 226 pages this is a little gem of a book. Five stars!
September 19, 2025
“Language evolved in the stomachs of the living, in the usage of ordinary people who were, for the most part, misinformed and wrong about so much.”
The Lost Language Of Oysters is the sixth book in the Professor Dr Von Igelfeld series. The Institute of Romance Philology at the University of Regensburg is about to host two female professors from the Tulane University in New Orleans, keen bikers who have hired red Ducatis on which to get around for their five-week stay. While Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld thinks trains would be perfectly adequate, he will, of course, be welcoming.
His colleague, Professor Unterholzer, though, is worried the Institute’s reputation will be irretrievably ruined, and at von Igelfeld’s indifference, he wonders “what hope there is of maintaining the Academy’s defences against the tides of vulgarisation lapping at its shores.” When von Igelfeld accepts a ride with Professor Pom Pom Boisseau, Unterholzer is sure he has taken leave of his senses, and devises a plan to have his sanity covertly assessed: perhaps von Igelfeld will need a break and his office can be appropriated?
After the ride though, Moritz-Maria believes he’s in love. The only thing distracting him from Pom Pom is trying to get hold of an advance copy of a book that has a chapter praising his seminal work, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. He learned of it at a conference, from an Italian professor he would have ignored on the basis of his paper, A Neanderthal Suppositional Grammar, until the man alerted him to the book. But the Institute’s only copy is out on loan to Professor Unterholzer: vanity and curiosity see von Igelfeld firstly in a situation of potential moral compromise with a local politician, then in a very tight spot.
Before their visitors return to Louisiana, von Igelfeld ends up with a duelling injury which, bizarrely, comes in handy when he overreacts to honours heaped upon his colleague and rival. He is grateful for the support of the unassuming (but often tedious) librarian, Herr Huber, and when he has the good fortune to himself have an honour bestowed, he is urged to be charitable to that rival.
Alexander McCall Smith has the singular talent of being able to write a whole series with tongue firmly in cheek, even as he makes insightful observations about academia: office envy, sensitivity over titles and qualifications, jealousy over accolades meted out to others, and the possessive guarding of coffee room privileges. And he allows his characters some wisdom: “There is no point in engaging with taxi drivers. With skills so sharp that they might have been honed in an ancient Greek academy of rhetoric, they always win.” Guaranteed to entertain.
The Lost Language Of Oysters is the sixth book in the Professor Dr Von Igelfeld series. The Institute of Romance Philology at the University of Regensburg is about to host two female professors from the Tulane University in New Orleans, keen bikers who have hired red Ducatis on which to get around for their five-week stay. While Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld thinks trains would be perfectly adequate, he will, of course, be welcoming.
His colleague, Professor Unterholzer, though, is worried the Institute’s reputation will be irretrievably ruined, and at von Igelfeld’s indifference, he wonders “what hope there is of maintaining the Academy’s defences against the tides of vulgarisation lapping at its shores.” When von Igelfeld accepts a ride with Professor Pom Pom Boisseau, Unterholzer is sure he has taken leave of his senses, and devises a plan to have his sanity covertly assessed: perhaps von Igelfeld will need a break and his office can be appropriated?
After the ride though, Moritz-Maria believes he’s in love. The only thing distracting him from Pom Pom is trying to get hold of an advance copy of a book that has a chapter praising his seminal work, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. He learned of it at a conference, from an Italian professor he would have ignored on the basis of his paper, A Neanderthal Suppositional Grammar, until the man alerted him to the book. But the Institute’s only copy is out on loan to Professor Unterholzer: vanity and curiosity see von Igelfeld firstly in a situation of potential moral compromise with a local politician, then in a very tight spot.
Before their visitors return to Louisiana, von Igelfeld ends up with a duelling injury which, bizarrely, comes in handy when he overreacts to honours heaped upon his colleague and rival. He is grateful for the support of the unassuming (but often tedious) librarian, Herr Huber, and when he has the good fortune to himself have an honour bestowed, he is urged to be charitable to that rival.
Alexander McCall Smith has the singular talent of being able to write a whole series with tongue firmly in cheek, even as he makes insightful observations about academia: office envy, sensitivity over titles and qualifications, jealousy over accolades meted out to others, and the possessive guarding of coffee room privileges. And he allows his characters some wisdom: “There is no point in engaging with taxi drivers. With skills so sharp that they might have been honed in an ancient Greek academy of rhetoric, they always win.” Guaranteed to entertain.
September 26, 2025
More amusing exploits from the pompous German professors bumbling through ridiculous rivalries and romantic missteps.
July 24, 2025
Begins and develops as another charming, gentle and politely surreal pastiche of academic life, but I found the ending unsatisfactory.
October 5, 2025
This is my favourite McCall Smith series.
Some of his books have rather tedious know-it-all characters who take themselves very seriously, such as Ms Dalhousie and they are not at all humorous.
The Professor Dr Von Igelfeld books (interestingly called "entertainments") are full of tedious characters who are actually very funny.Nowhere else in this writer's canon does one laugh out loud so much.
In this day of tedious wokery and attempts to censor free speech, it is nice to see that one can still poke fun at people and not be cancelled.The author's very funny gentle teasing of Germans gets by, unlike John Cleese's dangerously censored "Fawlty Towers".
McCall Smith is also I think laughing at himself when talking about the characters' pursuit of honorary degrees, as he himself is the recipient of these from 13 universities.
I enjoyed the Italian Professor lecturing on early languages that were so early and obscure as to have left behind no evidence of their existence at all.That won't stop a good linguistics expert!
To prove there is nothing wrong with repeating other people's witticisms,I loved his reference to Lord Palmerston's quote:"Only three people have really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business;the Prince Consort,who is dead;a German professor, who has gone mad and I,who have forgotten all about it." Nice to see the use of the much maligned semi-colon,and what a contrast to the hopeless and foolishly embarrassing David Lammy version of a Foreign Secretary.
I loved von Igelfeld's ruminations on whether Tennyson actually stole the famous quote about being better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all from Goethe,because it was such a good line reported to be by the English lord.
The whole book is McCall Smth at his finest:witty,thoughtful and teasing of others.
Some of his books have rather tedious know-it-all characters who take themselves very seriously, such as Ms Dalhousie and they are not at all humorous.
The Professor Dr Von Igelfeld books (interestingly called "entertainments") are full of tedious characters who are actually very funny.Nowhere else in this writer's canon does one laugh out loud so much.
In this day of tedious wokery and attempts to censor free speech, it is nice to see that one can still poke fun at people and not be cancelled.The author's very funny gentle teasing of Germans gets by, unlike John Cleese's dangerously censored "Fawlty Towers".
McCall Smith is also I think laughing at himself when talking about the characters' pursuit of honorary degrees, as he himself is the recipient of these from 13 universities.
I enjoyed the Italian Professor lecturing on early languages that were so early and obscure as to have left behind no evidence of their existence at all.That won't stop a good linguistics expert!
To prove there is nothing wrong with repeating other people's witticisms,I loved his reference to Lord Palmerston's quote:"Only three people have really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business;the Prince Consort,who is dead;a German professor, who has gone mad and I,who have forgotten all about it." Nice to see the use of the much maligned semi-colon,and what a contrast to the hopeless and foolishly embarrassing David Lammy version of a Foreign Secretary.
I loved von Igelfeld's ruminations on whether Tennyson actually stole the famous quote about being better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all from Goethe,because it was such a good line reported to be by the English lord.
The whole book is McCall Smth at his finest:witty,thoughtful and teasing of others.
July 13, 2025
Rather an odd addition to the series, Von Igelfeld is a figure of absurdity and pomposity in the other books, here he's just a slightly eccentric academic... two stereotypical 'dykes on bikes' are introduced, visiting professors from New Orleans, but no, they're married heterosexuals? Then at the end, a plot device is lifted (can one plagiarise oneself?) wholesale from the last Isabel Dalhousie...
Is AMS even writing these books?
Is AMS even writing these books?
December 6, 2025
Elinor Oliphant/Olive Kitteridge style characters, except a million of them and was a bit too ridiculous for me. Bumped up to 3 stars because a few moments did make me laugh out loud including the natural use of the word pettifoggery, someone called Herr Huber grumbling about a Herr Uber-Huber etc etc.
August 8, 2025
Im a big fan of AMC overall, although Less of a fan of the Von-Ingelfeld series. The characters, while quirky are just a tad not as attractive as the others like Bertie. This series feels much more of a parody than the other series.
Nonetheless there are a fun and diverting read
Nonetheless there are a fun and diverting read
May 27, 2025
Gentle leg pulling among German professors. Two lady professors arrive on motorbikes from the University of Tulane and Von Iglefeld falls in love.
June 22, 2025
Absolutely brilliant! Simplicity that brings joy to my soul.
July 15, 2025
Utterly delightful.
July 30, 2025
A bit silly, and not his best work in my opinion, but it was ok.
August 10, 2025
Professor Moritz-Maria von Iglefeld stays one of my favourite characters in literature.
Read
August 24, 2025Very entertaining
September 7, 2025
Absolutely loved it, on point yet again Alexander
September 10, 2025
Fun little novella, dry humoured and sweet. Very enjoyable quick read.
December 26, 2025
It's a remarkable book series and I look forward to reading #7. Great book!
July 5, 2025
This book is the sixth in the series that details the exploits of the inimitable Professor Dr. Dr. von Igelfeld, esteemed author of that seminal work of linguistic scholarship, Portuguese Irregular Verbs.
A work of gentle comic genius, this book caused me to actually laugh out loud.
As Bookseller, I would recommend this series to those who enjoy gentle comedy based on social faux pas.
A work of gentle comic genius, this book caused me to actually laugh out loud.
As Bookseller, I would recommend this series to those who enjoy gentle comedy based on social faux pas.
October 8, 2025
Почитателите на Алегзандър Маккол Смит и поредицата му за проф. д-р Мориц Мария фон Игелфелд, вярвам, няма да ос��анат разочаровани от "
The Lost Language of Oysters
". Шестата книга в серията отново ни връща между стените на Института по Романска филология към Университета на Регенсбург, който се подготвя да посрещне две дами отвъд океана - гостуващи професори от Ню Орлиънс. Заразен от свободолюбивия им и непринуден дух, фон Игелфелд започва да копнее за мотори, гъмбо, джаз, а защо не и за един летен романс.
Сред страниците, разбира се, ще срещнем и любимите на професора "Португалски неправилни глаголи", омразния му колега Детлев Амадеус Унтерхолцер и началника на отдел "Персонал", Юбер-Хубер, чието надменно име продължава да тормози библиотекаря, г-н (само) Хубер.
Сред страниците, разбира се, ще срещнем и любимите на професора "Португалски неправилни глаголи", омразния му колега Детлев Амадеус Унтерхолцер и началника на отдел "Персонал", Юбер-Хубер, чието надменно име продължава да тормози библиотекаря, г-н (само) Хубер.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews