Famous Like Me > Writer > H > James Herriot
Profile of James Herriot
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Name: |
James Herriot |
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Date of Birth: |
3rd October 1916 |
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Place of Birth: |
Sunderland, Co Durham, England, UK |
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Profession: |
Writer |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, known as Alf (October 3, 1916 - February 23, 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and writer.
Biography
Wight was born in Roker, Sunderland, England, his parents' original home, but grew up in Glasgow, Scotland.
At the age of twenty-three he qualified as a veterinarian. Wight worked in a rural practice in the town of Thirsk some 20 or 30 miles from the Dales of Yorkshire, England, and is best known as the author of a series of books about his life working as a vet and his training in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In his books, he calls the town where he lives 'Darrowby'. Darrowby was based largely on the towns of Thirsk and Leyburn.
The books, which told of many comic and illustrative incidents which either happened to him or people whom he knew, were enormously popular, and by the time of his death he was one of the foremost best-selling authors in both Britain and the United States. Despite his authorial success, he continued practising up to his death with his colleague Donald.
The books were adapted into two films and a long-running BBC television programme; for more information about these adaptations, see All Creatures Great and Small.
The popularity of the books and their adaptations have inspired many to become vets themselves.
Bibliography
Books
- If Only They Could Talk (1970)
- It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1972)
- Let Sleeping Vets Lie (1973)
- Vet in Harness (1974)
- Vets Might Fly (1976)
- Vet in a Spin (1977)
- James Herriot's Yorkshire (1979)
- The Lord God Made Them All (1981)
- Every Living Thing (1992)
Omnibus editions
In the United States, Herriot's novels were considered too short to publish independently, and so several pairs of novels were collected into omnibus volumes. The title All Creatures Great and Small was taken from the second line of the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful, and inspired by a punning suggestion from Herriot's daughter, who thought the book should be called Ill Creatures Great and Small.
- All Creatures Great and Small (1972) (incorporating If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet)
- All Things Bright and Beautiful (1974) (incorporating Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vet in Harness)
- All Things Wise and Wonderful (1977) (incorporating Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin)
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