NationMaster - Encyclopedia: James Herriot

James Herriot OBE is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, also known as Alf Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his enormously popular semi-autobiographical stories, often referred to collectively as All Creatures Great and Small, a title used in some editions and in film and television adaptations. James Herriot Museum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... James Herriot Museum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Thirsk is a small market town in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up veterinarian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ...

Biography

Alf Wight was born 3 October 1916 in Sunderland, England, to James and Hannah Wight. Shortly after their wedding, the Wights moved from Blandford Street, Sunderland to Glasgow in Scotland, where James took work as a pianist at the local movie theater, and Hannah was a singer. For Alf's birth, his mother returned to Sunderland, bringing him back to Glasgow when he was three weeks old. He attended Yoker Primary School and Hillhead High School. October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Wearmouth Bridge Sunderland (pronounced: , or ) is a former county borough now part of the City of Sunderland, in the county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ... The Wearmouth Bridge Sunderland (pronounced: , or ) is a former county borough now part of the City of Sunderland, in the county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification - by Kenneth I 843 Area - Total 78,772 km... Yoker is a western district of Glasgow, lying on the northern bank of the Clyde to the east of Clydebank. ... Hillhead High School is a day school located in the city of Glasgow on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. ...

In 1939, at the age of twenty-three, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940 he took a brief job at a vet practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the North York Moors in England, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. On 5 November 1941, he married Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury. The couple had two children, James Alexander (Jim), born 1943, who also became a vet and was a partner in the practice, and Rosemary (Rosie), born 1947, who became a medical doctor. Jim still practices in Thirsk, whilst his sister Rosie is retired, having worked for many years as a general practitioner in Thirsk. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Veterinarian. ... Thirsk is a small market town in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A View of the North York Moors North York Moors National Park is a National Park in northern England. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

From 1940 until 1942, Wight served in the RAF. His wife moved to her parents house during this time, and upon being discharged from the RAF Wight joined her. They lived here until 1946, at which point they moved back to 23 Kirkgate, staying until 1953. Later, he moved with his wife to a house on Topcliffe Road, Thirsk, opposite the secondary school. The original practice is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot", while the Topcliffe Road house is now in private ownership and not open to the public. He later moved with his family to the village of Thirlby, about 4 miles from Thirsk, where he lived until his death. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

He intended for years to write a book, but with most of his time consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing ambition went nowhere. Challenged by his wife, in 1966 (at the age of 50), he began writing. After several rejected stories on other subjects like football, he turned to what he knew best. If Only They Could Talk was published in the UK in 1969, but sales were slow until Tom McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York, received a copy and arranged to have the first two books published as a single volume in the United States. The resulting book, titled All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, spawning six sequels (published as four outside the UK), movies, and a successful television adaptation. Thomas (Tom) McCormack was once the chairman and chief editor of St. ... Headquartered in the legendary Flatiron Building in New York City, St. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676 Government - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area... All Creatures Great and Small was the title given to a compilation volume first published in 1972 comprising James Herriots first two novels, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldnt Happen to a Vet, which were considered too short to publish individually in the U.S. market. ...

Wight was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992, and underwent treatment in the Lambert Memorial Hospital in Thirsk. He died 23 February 1995, aged 78, at home in Thirlby^[1]. Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ... Thirsk is a small market town in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Author

In 1969 Wight wrote If Only They Could Talk, the first of the now-famous series based on 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, which he based largely on the towns of Thirsk and Sowerby, Darrowby. See also: 1968 in literature, other events of 1969, 1970 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Sowerbys were a British family of naturalists, illustrators, botanists, and zoologists who showed a remarkable lack of imagination in the naming of their sons from the second generation on. ...

The books, which told of the many comic and illustrative incidents which happened to him and the people around him, 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 until a few years before his death with his colleague Donald Sinclair. Owing in part to the British law forbidding veterinary surgeons from advertising, he took a pen name, choosing "James Herriot" after seeing the Scottish goalkeeper Jim Herriot play exceptionally well for Birmingham City in a televised game against Manchester United. He also renamed Donald and his brother Brian as Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, respectively. Donald Sinclair was the name of two people who were the real life inspirations for two of the most memorable fictional characters on British television. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Veterinarian. ... Commercialism redirects here. ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... Jim Herriot was a Scottish goalkeeper who played for Hibernian in Scotland and Birmingham City in England. ... Birmingham City (BCFC) is one of Birminghams two professional soccer teams (the other is Aston Villa F.C.). Originally known as The Small Heath Alliance, they became in 1905 and Birmingham City F.C. in 1945. ... Manchester Uniteds emblem Manchester United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U, pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. ... Brian Sinclair (c. ...

As literature, Wight's books don't fit the modern definition of a novel, in that each book doesn't constitute a single narrative. Rather, they are best seen as collections of short stories, following the chronology of Herriot's life. In this way, they are much like the compendium books of Sherlock Holmes stories, where each story stands as a narrative in its own right, but taken together, the collection of stories also becomes greater than the sum of its parts. This style lends itself well to the various collections and adaptations, as selected stories can be enjoyed. Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Paget, in The Strand Magazine. ...

Since the stories are told from the first-person perspective of James Herriot, his character is central to all of the episodes (although this was occasionally changed in the television adaptations, with some stories ending up with Siegfried or Tristan as the primary player). The first story details his arrival in Darrowby in 1939, applying for employment with Siegfried Farnon. The tales continue with his developing experience as a vet, his blossoming romance with local farmgirl Helen Alderson, their marriage, his conscription into the RAF during the Second World War, and the birth and growth of their children (accurately named Jimmy and Rosie). The examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Wight's storytelling style is clear and simple, and he shows himself to be an astute observer of details, particularly the personality quirks of people, as they skeptically question his treatment recommendations and rely instead on folk medicine and superstition. He takes a very matter-of-fact, clinical approach to medicine, but explain procedures in a way that is accessible to the layman. The stories vary in tone from heartwarming, to humorous, to tender and sad (but optimistic), to inspiring and romantic. Veterinary medicine is the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. ...

From a historical standpoint, the stories help document a transitional period in the veterinary industry: agriculture was moving from the traditional use of beasts of burden (in England, primarily the draught horse) to reliance upon the mechanical tractor, and medical science was just on the cusp of discovering the antibiotics and other treatments that eliminated many of the ancient remedies still in use. These and other sociological factors prompted a largescale shift in veterinary practice over the course of the 20th century: at the start of the century, virtually all of a vet's time was spent working with farm animals; by the turn of the millennium, the majority of vets practice mostly or exclusively on small animals (dogs, cats, and other pets). In the stories, Wight (as Herriot) occasionally steps out of the narrative at hand, to comment with the benefit of hindsight on the primitive state of vet medicine at the time. Among the episodes included in the books are memories of his first hysterectomy on a cat, and his first (almost disastrous) abdominal surgery on a cow. A Beast of Burden is an animal that toils for the benefit of humans such as a mule or an ox. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ... Two pairs of Shire horses and a pair of Suffolk Punches A draft horse, draught horse, or harness horse is a large, strong horse bred for heavy work rather than speed. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog Canis lupus is a type of canine, a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... Trinomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... PET, see PET. For the comedy TV series, see Pets (tv programme). ... Hindsight bias, sometimes called the I-knew-it-all-along effect, is the inclination to see past events as being predictable and reasonable to expect, perhaps because they are more available than possible outcomes which did not occur. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The term abdominal surgery broadly covers surgical procedures that involve opening the abdomen. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ...

The Herriot books are often described as "animal stories" (Wight himself was known to refer to them as his "little cat-and-dog stories"^[2]), and given that they are about the life of a country veterinarian, animals certainly play a significant role in most of the stories. However, there are a few of the stories in which animals play little or no part (particularly those about his courtship of Helen), and the overall theme of the stories is actually Yorkshire country life as a whole, with the people and animals being two of the primary elements that give it its distinct character. Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The books were adapted into two films and a long-running BBC television programme, all called All Creatures Great and Small, the title of the first volume of Herriot stories published in the U.S.He was the best vet author in the world indeed!! Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GBÂ£4 billion... This does not cite its references or sources. ... All Creatures Great and Small was the title given to a compilation volume first published in 1972 comprising James Herriots first two novels, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldnt Happen to a Vet, which were considered too short to publish individually in the U.S. market. ...

Bibliography

Books

See also: 1969 in literature, other events of 1970, 1971 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1972 in literature, other events of 1973, 1974 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1973 in literature, other events of 1974, 1975 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1975 in literature, other events of 1976, 1977 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1976 in literature, other events of 1977, 1978 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1978 in literature, other events of 1979, 1980 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1980 in literature, other events of 1981, 1982 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1991 in literature, other events of 1992, 1993 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1994 in literature, other events of 1995, 1996 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

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. A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ...

See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1973 in literature, other events of 1974, 1975 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1976 in literature, other events of 1977, 1978 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Quotes

On writing: George Bernard Shaw (George) Bernard Shaw[1] (born Dublin, 26 July 1856 â€“ died 2 November 1950 in Hertfordshire) was an Irish playwright based in England. ...

On retirement: An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ...

Trivia

Readers Digest Condensed Books were a series of anthology books, available by subscription and originally published quarterly (the frequency of publication went through several changes over the years), by Readers Digest. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References

Contents