The art of doing good. Aging, creativity and wisdom in the Isabel Dalhousie novels

Several studies have examined the interaction between the aging process and literary creativity, either to confirm the stereotype that wisdom and experience do not compensate for the inevitable decline of intellectual (and all) capacities (Lehman 1953; de Beauvoir 1972) or to highlight the empowering possibilities of embracing the knowledge and insight of a lifetime to continue developing creativity in maturity (Wyatt-Brown and Rossen 1993; Cohen-Shalev 2002; Casado-Gual, Domínguez-Rué and Worsfold 2016). Not so much emphasis, however, has been put on how this new creative stage and the wisdom gained in a lifetime can contribute to improving the author's personal and/or intellectual fulfilment and, by extension, benefit readers by the sharing of that experience. Since wisdom is a quality often associated with old age, it would not be odd to assume that the lessons learned from life and career can not only lead the artist to a period of renewed engagement, but the sharing of that awareness can also inspire readers to get a glimpse of “the good life”. One such example is the Scottish writer Alexander McCall-Smith (1948). McCall-Smith is currently one of the best-loved and most prolific authors in English, having written more than a hundred volumes, mostly after the age of fifty. Among such an extensive production, this article concentrates on his Sunday Philosophy Club series, featuring middle-aged philosopher and amateur detective Isabel Dalhousie, whose deep philosophical interrogations and intensely human dimension interrogate fundamental notions about ethical living and life at large.