Who is James Herriot?
James Herriot is the author of a series of books based on his life as a country veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales. Herriot is a pen name, assumed because British law would not allow veterinarians to advertise their practices. Herriot was born Alfred Wight, in 1916. Early in his life, his parents moved to Scotland, and he always terms himself a Glaswegian in his books. In Scotland, Herriot graduated from the Glasgow Veterinary College when he was 23., and found employment with Donald Sinclair in Thirsk, in the Northern section of Yorkshire. Herriot, despite his success as an author in the 70s, would remain in practice with Sinclair, and at times his brother Brian Sinclair (Tristan) until a couple of years before his death in 1995. After two years in practice with Donald, (Siegfried Farnon), Herriot married his beloved wife Joan Danbury, (Helen). Alfred had two children, James and Rosie whose names remain the same in the books. James Wight also became a veterinarian, and eventually a p
James Herriot is a pseudonym used by James Wight, a veterinary surgeon who practiced in the Yorkshire Dales, England beginning in the 1930s. James Herriot’s with his partner Siegfried Farnon and Siegfried’s brother, Tristan are filled with trials, really warped humor, and hysterical personal experiences. By taking the typical life of the Dales farmers and his experiences as a country vet, city “slicker” James Herriot becomes deeply involved in the depths of his new environment and in the process gives us a lifelong story of his life that truly will put a smile on anyone’s face. His life and veterinary experiences have created numerous books, (All Creatures Great And Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord Made Them All, and more) as well as television series created by the BBC and played on public television. Listening to these stories never becomes old to me and as I have read this and other books too many times to count, I still laugh and cry a
