But it’s the vision of easy humanity in Herriot’s stories that has kept us coming back for more.A private residence in Grassington was used for the exteriors of Skeldale House. With pet ownership on the rise animal stories will remain part of our culture. According to his daugher, Rosie, Wight himself suffered from “melancholic episodes”. One American man said the books were so uplifting they helped save his life during a bout of severe depression.

Wight’s children still receive letters from readers around the world telling how his books helped them cope with difficult times. Even in Vet in Harness, set when Siegfried and Jim are in the Royal Air Force, the stories focus on the personal and human, balancing humour and hardship. The absence of story lines that might lead to “difficult” conversations around political or sensitive topics also make them comfortable, escapist entertainment. They became best-sellers in the USA before they did in the UK. Nostalgia for what has been called a “ fast-disappearing way of life” has unquestionably been part of the appeal of the franchise. Herriot’s books are set in the 30s, 40s and 50s, some years earlier than his real-life experiences. Why your veterinarian may refuse to euthanise your pet Though picturesque, life on the Yorkshire Dales was tough. When the two books were combined into All Creatures Great and Small for US publication, also in 1972, the omnibus volume had huge success. It had modest sales, as did the sequel It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet, published in 1972. His first published book, If Only They Could Talk, was published in Britain in 1970. He analysed books by authors whose work he enjoyed, including the humourist P.G. Wight kept diaries as a child and made copious professional notes, but began to write seriously in his 50s after his wife Joan encouraged him to do so. He lived in Yorkshire until his death in 1996. Following the end of the war, Wight worked as a vet in and around Thirsk until his retirement in 1989. He was in the Royal Air Force in 1942-3, but was discharged after being deemed unfit to fly for health reasons. He first worked in urban Sunderland, but moved to Thirsk after just six months as he wanted to be a country vet. He also wanted to protect the privacy of the people on whom his characters were based.īorn in England in 1916, Wight grew up and graduated from veterinary school in Scotland before returning to England to practice. He used a pseudonym because the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons did not allow vets to advertise.

James Herriott was the pen name of Wight, a Yorkshire vet.

Original all creatures great and small