05/11/2026
📚 Are you watching and enjoying the latest series of All Creatures Great and Small?
The wonderful books of James Herriot have delighted generations of readers, so we were thrilled to include the first in our Portsmouth 100 Books.
Here, one of our much-valued library volunteers, Bryan, shares why Herriot’s stories mean so much to him. ❤️
A Little Yorkshire Magic.
"There are some books that you read and enjoy. But there are other books that stay with you for the rest of your life. For me, James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small definitely belongs in the latter category.
I first discovered the book many years ago, when I was in my late teens’. At the time I was working as a chef. It was a job I loved, but it could be stressful and demanding. After a busy shift in the kitchen, I often found it difficult to switch off. My solution to this was wonderfully simple: climb into bed to read a chapter or two of James Herriot. Escaping into the rather different world of a Yorkshire country vet was the perfect way to unwind.
For anyone unfamiliar with the book, James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight ( Alf for short. ) Alf Wight was a veterinary surgeon who worked in and around the market town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Drawing on his experiences as a young vet during the 1930s and 1940s, his stories introduce us to a wonderful collection of animals, farmers, and colourful local characters.
Although rooted in real experiences, the books are a mixture of fact and fiction rather than strict autobiography. Incidents are sometimes adapted for story telling purposes, and people and places are given different names. Many of the characters are based on real people that Alf Wight encountered during his working life. This perhaps explains why they feel so convincing and full of life.
One of the things I love most about the book is its setting. Herriot has a real gift for bringing the Yorkshire countryside to life. You can almost feel the crisp winter mornings. You can picture the rolling hills, the drystone walls, and the remote farms. It is a landscape that becomes almost another character in the stories.
Of course, the real magic of the book lies in its people and animals. There is the young James himself, learning the ropes and sometimes finding himself in some rather awkward situations. Then there are his fellow vets at Skeldale House - the unpredictable Siegfried Farnon ( James’s employer ) and his mischievous younger brother Tristan. Their personalities and antics provide some wonderful moments of humour.
There is also a lovely romantic thread running through the stories as we follow James’s growing affection for Helen Alderson, the farmers daughter who eventually becomes his wife. Its rather nice to see the young vets life gradually taking shape beyond the demands of his work.
And there are the farmers, each with their own particular quirks, and the animals who provide the reasons for James’s often challenging visits. Herriot manages to make every encounter interesting and memorable.
What makes the stories so enjoyable is the way that humour sits alongside some genuinely moving and sometimes heartbreaking moments. Veterinary work can be difficult, and not every story has a happy ending. There are tales of illness, hardship and loss, but also kindness, loyalty, and affection.
I eventually travelled to Thirsk. There I visited the World of James Herriot museum at 23 Kirkgate, where Alf Wight was a partner in the veterinary practice. Once inside, I got a real sense of the world in which the stories were born. One of the highlights was being able to sit in Alf Wight’s former car. This is preserved at the museum and was once used for his veterinary rounds.
So why should All Creatures Great and Small be included in the list of the 100 Best Books ? For me, it is because it does something that the very best books manage to achieve: it effortlessly transports you somewhere else, and introduces you to people you feel you know. It makes you laugh, and it sometimes brings a lump to your throat. Above all, it leaves you feeling better for having read it.
I still think back fondly to those evenings in my teenage years, escaping from the pressures of a busy kitchen into the Yorkshire countryside. And even now, I cannot think of a better place to return to than the wonderful world of James Herriot."
