All Things Bright and Beautiful

"The warm and joyful sequel to All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot, the Yorkshire Dales veterinary. This book takes place after his marriage to Helen and before he is posted to the Royal Air Force in World War II. He reminisces about his various cases, often sharing more about the farmers than about his patients. He shares about his courting of Helen and about his luck at finding the perfect wife. I especially like the part where he advises that one study the relationship between your choice of mate and her father. Helen dotes on her father after the death of her mother, and Herriot is the lucky recipient of a doting wife. Herriot makes all his characters come alive with his rich and homey descriptions. He writes more than once that he loves his work and despite the hardships he is a happy man with his choice of work. The world was lucky to have such a man write his memoirs for the vast audience that accepted and loved his books.  

All Creatures Great and Small

Sometimes I just want to read a sure bet, something good and wholesome. It has been a while since I've read some of James Herriot and decided to read the first of his series on veterinary practice in England in the 1930's. It was a best seller when it first came on the scene in America in the 70's, and for some reason or other I never got around to reading it until I became a librarian and I read it to my patrons at the nursing home. It's a perfect read aloud for that audience, short chapters with little connecting them so that if a patron would miss a week or so, he'd be able to pick up the story just fine. Also I live near the farms in Ohio and I think the elderly could relate to the stories, although I think James Herriot's stories can appeal to most. Just the other day my hairdresser said she read them in her youth while watching the television series with her mother. I tried to get my daughter to read the first in the 80's or early 90's but I can't remember if she made it through the book. I see that there is talk of another filming of the James Herriot stories, but I think they couldn't improve on the BBC series with Christopher Timothy and Robert Hardy.