# Any love for James Herriot in here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529 "2011-04-24T02:34:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/21 "2011-04-24T21:05:20Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > Jimmy (his son) wrote a very good Biography of his Dad,_[The Real James Herriot](http://www.amazon.com/Real-James-Herriot-Memoir-Father/dp/0345434900)_. Ooohh, I think I know my next ebook purchase, thanks! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/22 "2011-04-24T22:07:48Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Ooohh, I think I know my next ebook purchase, thanks! > > šŸ™‚ weā€™re due for a library visit today, and itā€™s available! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/23 "2011-04-24T22:12:31Z")
> [@maggenpye](#): > > weā€™re due for a library visit today, and itā€™s available! My work here is done! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/24 "2011-04-24T22:21:02Z")
I read all the books endlessly as a teenager, and loved the tv series. I was horse-mad, as are lots of girls that age, and spent all kinds of hours in the barn with the cows and horses. I wanted to be a vet, but a sixth-grade teacher told me I was too stupid to be a vet, as I would never get the math needed. So Iā€™ve become the person everyone brings the injured/orphaned animal to, as I teach science. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/25 "2011-04-24T23:28:35Z")
I read all his books as a teenager, when they were first published and liked them immensely. Also have the coffee-table picture book, _James Herriotā€™s Yorkshire_ which pictures many of the places he wrote about and makes an excellent addendum to the others. Several years ago I ran across _The Real James Herriot_ and read it avidly. The son did not have his fatherā€™s gift for engaging prose, but he had a good story to tell and told it straightforewardly. Among the more interesting content of the biography was some good insights into the character of Seigfried (whose real name was Donald Sinclair). His portrayal in the first book (_All Creatures Great & Small_) offended him and for a time threatened his friendship with the author. Herriot toned down the Seigfried character in the sequels out of consideration for his friend and partner. The odd thing was, the man really was such a thoroughgoing eccentric that many people thought his portrayal was too mild. In _The Real James Herriot_, Wight Jr. tells of some of Sinclairā€™s real-life episodes and they areā€¦interesting, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/26 "2011-04-25T01:12:27Z")
My mom got me hooked on his books and I had the hymn, ā€˜All Things Bright and Beautifulā€™ in my wedding as a nod to her and them. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/27 "2011-04-25T01:59:49Z")
Sinclair was apparently a real cheapskate. Wight didnā€™t make any money until he started publishing. One of his colleagues was shocked to find how little Wight was making as a vet ā€“ Sinclair hardly ever gave him a raise, and Wight had little concern for money and no head for business and never pursued the matter, I guess. If the family dynamic between the Sinclair brothers was anything like what was portrayed in the books, I would want to steer away from that. Robert Hardy is something like 25 years older than Peter Davison! He just looks really young and ages very slowly. I remember when Peter Davison took over as Doctor Who, I thought, ā€œThat idiot Tristan?ā€ From the commentary track, though, he is NOTHING like Tristan ā€“ quite shy and self-deprecating. I am quite sure I could help lambs be born, just from having read those books! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/28 "2011-04-25T03:01:11Z")
OMG YES! Read every book, cover to cover, over and over, watched the showā€¦I also have a collection of his stories in a big doorstop of a book. In this book are little drawings in the margins, of farm implements, horse brasses, even Yorkshire recipesā€¦The thing I found so interesting was the development of antibiotics after WWII which changed so much about medicine, for both humans and animals. And I was surprised that, if Iā€™m not mistaken, there was a THIRD partner that was left out of the books entirely, but maybe that would have been ā€˜too muchā€™ and the characters were a composite (not to say embellished). The books are just a treasure, no other word for it. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/29 "2011-04-25T03:13:06Z")
You donā€™t mean Calum Buchanan, do you? ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/30 "2011-04-25T03:14:05Z")
Great books - good TV series. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/31 "2011-04-25T03:17:45Z")
I think your book is _The Best of James Herriot: Favorite Memories of a Country Vet_. You can get it for nothing on Amazon and yes, it is a treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/32 "2011-04-25T03:54:10Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > My mom got me hooked on his books and I had the hymn, ā€˜All Things Bright and Beautifulā€™ in my wedding as a nod to her and them. That is so sweet! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/33 "2011-04-25T10:55:00Z")
If youā€™re ever in Yorkshire, I recommend a visit to his house in Thirsk: [http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org/](http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org/) The downstairs is kept just as it was in the 1950s, with a cabinet full of antique vet medicines. Upstairs is a childrenā€™s museum (see if you have the strength to pull a calf out of a cow!). And out back is Herriotā€™s car and information, including sets, from the TV series. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/34 "2011-04-25T11:42:43Z")
I love his cat and dog stories. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/35 "2011-04-25T14:00:27Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > You donā€™t mean Calum Buchanan, do you? tā€™young vitniry wit tā€™badger? šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/36 "2011-04-25T14:05:04Z")
I love these books. Iā€™ve read them several times, and Iā€™ve read them out loud to my family, too. That required some discussion of bovine obstetrics (ā€œHe put his arm _where_?ā€) but it was worth it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/37 "2011-04-25T14:15:45Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > You donā€™t mean Calum Buchanan, do you? Sort of. In real life, in the book ā€œAll Things Herriotā€ by Sanford Sternlicht I found this: ā€œthere was a third partner to the practice: Frank Bingham, NOT mentioned in any of the five memoirs. He lived in Leyburn. Apparently the practice had a satellite surgery near sheep country in the Pennines.ā€ He ā€˜appearedā€™ on the TV show in the form of another veterinarinan, Ewan Ross. Yes, ā€œThe Best of James Herriotā€ is the big book I have! Gorgeous photographs of the countryside, too. Every time we have to call our own vet, I have to resist the urge to yell, ā€œIS THAT THE VITā€™NERY?ā€ every time they answer. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/38 "2011-04-25T14:17:28Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I love these books. Iā€™ve read them several times, and Iā€™ve read them out loud to my family, too. That required some discussion of bovine obstetrics (ā€œHe put his arm _where_?ā€) but it was worth it. When I was watching the series with a friend some years ago, we were talking about this frequently recurring aspect of the vetsā€™ work. My friend, who had once worked on a ranch, told me, ā€œThere is no wrong time to put your arm up a cowā€™s bottom.ā€ Words I have always remembered and tried to live by. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/39 "2011-04-25T15:37:02Z")
I read the books as a kid and still think they are among the best books Iā€™ve read of any kind. Even then, I knew they were a little too good to be true, but I was still a bit disappointed when I read the biography to learn of the embellishments and the differences between his characters and their real-life counterparts. I swore off biographies after that! I plan to wait now until Iā€™ve forgotten all that real-life stuff and then Iā€™ll re-experience the books all over again. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-love-for-james-herriot-in-here/579529/40 "2011-04-25T15:56:14Z")
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