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James Herriot

Born

in Sunderland, The United Kingdom

October 03, 1916

Died

February 23, 1995

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction, Short Stories

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James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS also known as Alf Wight, an English veterinary surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his semi-autobiographical stories, often referred to collectively as All Creatures Great and Small, a title used in some editions and in film and television adaptations.

In 1939, at the age of 23, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon with Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940, he took a brief job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. The original practice is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS also known as Alf Wight, an English veterinary surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his semi-autobiographical stories, often referred to collectively as All Creatures Great and Small, a title used in some editions and in film and television adaptations.

In 1939, at the age of 23, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon with Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940, he took a brief job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. The original practice is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot".

Wight intended for years to write a book, but with most of his time consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing ambition went nowhere. Challenged by his wife, in 1966 (at the age of 50), he began writing. In 1969 Wight wrote If Only They Could Talk, the first of the now-famous series based on his life working as a vet and his training in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Owing in part to professional etiquette which at that time frowned on veterinary surgeons and other professionals from advertising their services, he took a pen name, choosing "James Herriot". If Only They Could Talk was published in the United Kingdom in 1970 by Michael Joseph Ltd, but sales were slow until Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York City, received a copy and arranged to have the first two books published as a single volume in the United States. The resulting book, titled All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, spawning numerous sequels, movies, and a successful television adaptation.

In his books, Wight calls the town where he lives and works Darrowby, which he based largely on the towns of Thirsk and Sowerby. He also renamed Donald Sinclair and his brother Brian Sinclair as Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, respectively. Wight's books are only partially autobiographical. Many of the stories are only loosely based on real events or people, and thus can be considered primarily fiction.

The Herriot books are often described as "animal stories" (Wight himself was known to refer to them as his "little cat-and-dog stories"), and given that they are about the life of a country veterinarian, animals certainly play a significant role in most of the stories. Yet animals play a lesser, sometimes even a negligible role in many of Wight's tales: the overall theme of his stories is Yorkshire country life, with its people and their animals primary elements that provide its distinct character. Further, it is Wight's shrewd observations of persons, animals, and their close inter-relationship, which give his writing much of its savour. Wight was just as interested in their owners as he was in his patients, and his writing is, at root, an amiable but keen comment on the human condition. The Yorkshire animals provide the element of pain and drama; the role of their owners is to feel and express joy, sadness, sometimes triumph. The animal characters also prevent Wight's stories from becoming twee or melodramatic — animals, unlike some humans, do not pretend to be ailing, nor have they imaginary complaints and needless fears. Their ill-health is real, not the result of flaws in their character which they avoid mending. In an age of social uncertainties, when there seem to be no remedies for anything, Wight's stories of resolute grappling with mysterious bacterial foes or severe injuries have an almost heroic quality, giving the reader a sense of assurance, even hope. Best of all, James Herriot has an abundant humour about himself and his difficulties. He never feels superior to any living thing, and is ever eager to learn — about animal doctoring, and about his fellow human creature.

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James Herriot’s books

Average rating: 4.39 · 424,532 ratings · 19,133 reviews · 269 distinct works • Similar authors

	All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small, #1-2) 4.36 avg rating — 158,465 ratings — published 1972 — 244 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All Things Bright and Beautiful (All Creatures Great and Small, #3-4) 4.36 avg rating — 83,258 ratings — published 1976 — 140 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All Things Wise and Wonderful (All Creatures Great and Small, #5-6) 4.45 avg rating — 37,803 ratings — published 1978 — 97 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great and Small, #7) 4.45 avg rating — 29,960 ratings — published 1981 — 116 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Every Living Thing (All Creatures Great and Small, #8) 4.51 avg rating — 17,646 ratings — published 1992 — 109 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All Creatures Great and Small / All Things Bright and Beautiful 4.34 avg rating — 15,714 ratings — published 1972 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	James Herriot's Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, Peter Barrett (Illustrator) 4.51 avg rating — 13,321 ratings — published 1992 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	If Only They Could Talk (All Creatures Great and Small, #1) 4.34 avg rating — 8,388 ratings — published 1970	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	James Herriot's Dog Stories by James Herriot, Victor G. Ambrus (Illustrator) 4.44 avg rating — 7,708 ratings — published 1986 — 80 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (All Creatures Great and Small, #2) 4.36 avg rating — 7,785 ratings — published 1972 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by James Herriot…

Series by James Herriot

All Creatures Great and Small (8 books)
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All Creatures Great and Small (1 book)
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Quotes by James Herriot (?)

“Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.”
― James Herriot, James Herriot's Cat Stories

1856 likes

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”
― James Herriot , All Creatures Great and Small

tags: animals, gratitude, love, loyalty, soul

803 likes

“A farmer once told me one of the greatest luxuries of his life was to wake up early only to go back to sleep again.”
― James Herriot

183 likes

See all James Herriot's quotes »

Polls

What book would you like to read for our November 2025 Group Read? The theme is Pets.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Fiction

11 votes 23.9%

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Contemporary Fiction

8 votes 17.4%

Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Horror

7 votes 15.2%

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
Nonfiction, Memoir, Animals

7 votes 15.2%

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
Magical Realism

6 votes 13.0%

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa
Fantasy, Magical Realism

6 votes 13.0%

Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen
Nonfiction, Memoir

1 vote 2.2%

46 total votes

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James Herriot’s Followers (3,407)

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James Herriot

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