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North Yorkshire - [alternative] All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot


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All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

 

Synopsis:

Fresh out of Glasgow Veterinary College, to the young James Herriot 1930s Yorkshire seems to offers an idyllic pocket of rural life in a rapidly changing world. But from his erratic new colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, to incomprehensible farmers, herds of semi-feral cattle, a pig called Nugent and an overweight Pekingese called Tricki Woo, James find he is on a learning curve as steep as the hills around him. And when he meets Helen, the beautiful daughter of a local farmer, all the training and experience in the world can’t help him…

 

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Edited by chesilbeach
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  • 2 months later...

I decided that my main choice of book for North Yorkshire would be All Creatures Great and Small.  As I mentioned over in my book blog, I'd been a bit concerned about reading it, asI felt I already knew all the characters and stories because the television series which we'd watch fairly religiously when I was little.  I needn't have worried - it was lovely to go back and find out more about characters I already knew, learning more of their early days, which I'd forgotten from the television series.  The book is actually two and a half of the original series of memoirs, and takes us from meeting James just after he has qualified as a vet, through his first meeting and interview with Siegfried, and his first years at the practice, and meeting his future bride, and ends on their honeymoon.
 
I did learn new things about James - he's actually Scottish, and not English as portrayed in the television series - but I also got more of Siegfried's eccentricities, Tristan's fun loving nature and the inflammatory nature of their relationship.  But what is also glorious, and perfectly suited to the Challenge, is that there is a wonderful sense of place in the writing.  You get to know the people, the society and the landscape, while hearing tales of unreliable cars, treating sick animals, beautiful and treacherous weather, and all centred around the county of North Yorkshire.  One of my favourite recurring story lines was with Tricki Woo, the Pekingese that James becomes "uncle" to, how he is so spoilt and James has to rescue him when he is so overfed and under exercised, but earns more favour in the household than ever before. :)  If I have one complaint, it's that apart from the odd one or two people, there was little continuity between the various farmers and other clients that James visits.  Sorry to keep comparing it to the television series, but there were lots of recurring characters in it, and I didn't feel that in the book, but maybe if I read more in the series, then this will become more evident.  
 
That said, it was a lovely book which I would probably never have read it if it hadn't been for the challenge, so it's proving itself worth the effort!

Edited by chesilbeach
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  • 10 months later...

Also posted in my 2014 Blog.

 

The TV show about James Heriott and the Farnon brothers was a staple in our house when it was first broadcast on the BBC and I remember the books being on our bookshelves before this, so I was pleased when this was chosen as an alternative choice for North Yorkshire.
 
James Alfred Wright, known as Alf, was born in County Durham and grew up in Glasgow. He qualified as a vet in 1923 and in 1940 moved to a veterinary practice in Thirsk, Yorkshire, where he remained for the rest of his career.
 
This book, which is published under his nom de plume of James Heriott, is made up of stories influenced by the cases and people he dealt with during his working life.  They start from his arrival at Thirsk – called Darroby in the books - and this, the original first two books in one edition, ends with James and his wife Helen returning from their honeymoon.  The book really captures the feeling of Yorkshire and tells of a time when veterinary methods were modernising and treatments and medicines were moving on from Victorian techniques and remedies.  Like in human medicine, things were moving on apace as new drugs were discovered and technology was improving. 
 
They are gentle stories and most are very amusing.  Obviously they feel rather dated as they are set in a bygone era but that just helps to add to the charm of the book in my opinion.  One thing that struck me (which I don’t remember from the TV show, although that’s not to say it wasn’t a feature) was how often the three vets drove after consuming more alcohol than is probably good for one person – this was particularly obvious in the

section where they go to the races and Siegfried bumps into an old acquaintance in the bar!

 

Bizarrely, although I pictured Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy and Carol Drinkwater (not Lynda Bellingham) when reading, 'my' surgery and Darroby looked nothing like they did in the TV series! 
 
Overall the book was very enjoyable.  I particularly liked the stories about Tricki Woo and his very slow courtship of Helen. I’m not sure whether I’ll go on to read the sequels or not – although I enjoyed the book I can imagine that they might be a bit samey?  We’ll see.    :)

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We watched a batch of episodes last year, as they were showing them on the Drama channel, and had recorded all of them, but our Sky box failed and we lost them all :(  However, I can confirm that the drinking and driving is as prevalent as it is in the books on the television programme - and we actually watched the episode in your spoiler!  Times have definitely changed and we've become much, much more aware of the dangers of drinking and driving since the programmes were first broadcast.

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Ah, that's a shame, Claire.  Did you enjoy the ones you re-watched?   I didn't realise they were so closely based on the books!  

 

I've done a bit of Googling since reading it and it seems that a fair amount of poetic license was used in the books.  Alf's business partner - the man on whom Siegfried is based - wasn't entirely happy on his portrayal, although people close to him thought he was even more eccentric than Siegfried was!  He committed suicide after his wife died.  :(   The Tristan character (Brian) didn't mind how he came across and actually enjoyed the celebrity status the TV show gave him!  :lol: 

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We did enjoy them a lot.  Most of the ones we watched were from the first couple of series, and they were very close to the books.  The only real difference I could find was that in the books he's from Scotland, but not in the television series.  Apart from that, I could easily match episodes to chapters in the books.

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These books and the TV series are amongst my very favourites (I preferred Carol Drinkwater as Helen too, Janet). Although I've never been to Yorkshire, they have given me an abiding fascination and love for the Yorkshire Dales (apparently my great, great grandmother came from there, so perhaps it's in my genes).

I've also read The Real James Heriot: A Memoir of My Father by his son James Wright. It shows more of the private man - very family orientated, generous and kind.

 

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I put that on my Amazon wish list after reading this, Poppy. :)  It's cheap on Kindle but I'm trying not to buy too many new books (I say that every January! :giggle2: ) so I might see if the library have it.

 

If you ever get the chance to go to Yorkshire you should grab it - it's such a beautiful place. :)

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It's okay - I wasn't offended.  :)

 

I've found the book.  I have a book mark tucked into page 78.  I vaguely remember putting it down because it felt quite samey compared to the first two - but I might give it a go sometime this year as I know I enjoyed the first two. 

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I know we're a bit off topic, but have you read the Gervase Phinn books of his time as a school inspector in the Dales, poppy?  I think you'd enjoy them, if you haven't read them. :)

 

Thanks for that Claire, no I haven't read them, but I'll definitely keep my eye out for them (they don't seem to be available on Kindle :( )

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