NLS Minibibliographies

Books by James Herriot

Content last modified February 1993

Introduction

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

DB/RC 53926

BR 13837

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

DB/RC 39611

BR 13838

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 a but his wife and child and relates some comic and sad anecdotes about the animals he has treated. 1977

RC 53147

BR 3878

BR 5779

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

RC 54019 - DB is in process

BR 14213

Other Books by James Herriot

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

BR 3363

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

RC 19238

Only One Woof

A sweet but silent sheepdog, who does not bark, is reunited, with

RC 24632

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

BR 7107

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

RC 23911

BR 6695

Compiled by Ellie Friedman
Revised by Joyce Y. Carter

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Posted on 2009-11-19