The series of autobiographical books by British nonfiction writer James Herriot (pseudonym of James Alfred Wight) focuses on his daily life as a country veterinarian in rural Yorkshire, beginning at the time of World War II. Readers are treated to sensitive descriptions of the author's animal patients and human colleagues and his day-to-day entanglements with both. His experiences range from coping with calves strangling in birth to dealing with a colleague's slapdash bookkeeping. Pervading these anecdotes, whether comic or sad, is the author's fine sense of humor and his celebration of life and nature. Herriot's affirmation of unpretentious, clean living may be a factor in the widespread appeal of his books. Their popularity has led to the adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small into a film and a television series.
Following is a list of the series in chronological order of content as given in Contemporary Authors, volumes 77-80. Additional books are listed that deal with life of the country vet but are not a part of the series. All of the books are available from NLS network library collections.
All Creatures Great and Small
An English veterinarian writes of his work, whether on his back in a stable trying to deliver a calf during a snowstorm or comforting a lonely old man whose only companion, a dog, has died. Bestseller 1972
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All Things Bright and Beautiful
A continuation of the reminiscences of the country veterinarian. These anecdotes take place before World War II, and describe the vet's day-to-day encounters with a cast of unforgettable humans, dogs, horses, lambs, and parakeets. 1974
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All Things Wise and Wonderful
Also published as Vet in a Spin. Inducted into the Royal Air Force in World War II, the vet longs for his family, the rural countryside of his home in Yorkshire, and the joys of practicing veterinary medicine. Through a series of flashbacks, he expresses his feelings about his wife and child and relates some comic and sad anecdotes about the animals he has treated. 1977
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The Lord God Made Them All
World War II is over, and the vet has returned to his family and his practice in Yorkshire. Life is back to normal except for the expedition that takes him behind the Iron Curtain to look at veterinarians on a real live animal farm. 1981
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Every Living Thing
In this sequel to "The Lord God Made Them All," Dr. Herriot looks back at his family and his practice after World War II, when he and his partners expanded their care of farm animals to include more and more small animals. He introduces new assistants and villagers, whose various livestock and pets Herriot and his partners treat with new medical techniques, knowledge, common sense, and love. Bestseller 1993
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Other Books by James Herriot
The Best of James Herriot: Favorite Memories of a Country Vet
More than fifty chapters from Herriot's collected works tell the story of his hesitant days as a novice veterinarian, the quaint beauty of Yorkshire, and his joys and tribulations as a husband and father. 1983
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The Christmas Day Kitten
Debbie, a mysterious stray cat who often visits at Mrs. Pickering's house, brings Mrs. Pickering the best Christmas present she ever had. 1986
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It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
After a year in veterinary practice, young James Herriot is still running into trouble with the unpredictable nature of his animal patients. 1972
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James Herriot's Animal Stories
Ten of the Yorkshire veterinarian’s best-loved stories with an introduction by his son, Jim Wight, who took over the practice after his father’s death in 1995. 1997
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James Herriot's Cat Stories
In Herriot’s childhood his favorite animal was the cat, so he looked forward to studying cats in veterinary school. He was appalled to discover that anatomy books ignored cats, but during the fifty years that Herriot practiced veterinary medicine, he met many cats and learned a great deal about them. Here he offers ten stories about some of the cats who have come into his life, including Oscar, the socialite, and Alfred from the sweetshop. 1994
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James Herriot's Dog Stories
A collection of fifty dog stories from the Scottish veterinarian and master storyteller of Yorkshire. Whether treating Mrs. Pumphrey's pampered Pekingese Tricki Woo, saving a dog's badly mangled leg without antibiotics, or ducking out of the Daffodil Ball with future-wife Helen, Herriot's reminiscences are warm and cheery. Bestseller 1986
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James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories
Herriot has collected ten of his favorite stories from his previous books about his years as a veterinarian in Yorkshire. Includes stories about Tricki Woo, Jock, and Roy as well as the dogs’ owners. 1996
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James Herriot's Treasury for Children
The rural English veterinarian’s animal stories for children are collected in one volume including "Moses the Kitten," "Only One Woof" (also RC 24632), "The Christmas Day Kitten," and "The Market Square Dog" among others. For grades K-3 and older readers. 1991
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Only One Woof
A sweet but silent sheepdog, who does not bark, is reunited, with surprising results, with an old friend from puppy days—his brother. 1985
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Biographies about James Herriot:
James Herriot: Life of a Country Vet
by Graham Lord
Offers a glimpse into the life of Alf Wight, known as James Herriot. Moves from his childhood through his veterinary school years and provides more fact about Wight’s life as a vet than the somewhat fictionalized pieces seen in his books. 1998
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The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father
by Jim Wight
Biography of Yorkshire veterinarian and author James Alfred Wight, better known as James Herriot, by his son and colleague. Recounts Herriot’s childhood and the career upon which his popular stories were based. Wight portrays his father as a modest family man who was determined not to let celebrity interfere with his life. 1999
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