[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_herriot_1.jpeg]]

->''"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."''

The really funny thing is that James Herriot was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Herriot an obscure Scots soccer player.]]

The man who took his name as a pseudonym was bestselling author and eventual (if highly unlikely) cross-Atlantic multimedia sensation James Alfred 'Alf' Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), in reality as well as in fiction the archetypal KindlyVet. Thus almost singlehandedly the reason why there seem to be [[Creator/AnimalPlanet so many of them around in media these days]].

Wight was born in 1916 in [[OopNorth Northern England]] but raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon qualifying as a veterinary surgeon shortly prior to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, he ventured into North Yorkshire for the first time in 1940, to begin practice in a small farming community seat that he would dub 'Darrowby', but which was in reality Thirsk with some elements borrowed from nearby Leyburn, Middleham, and Richmond -- ironically enough, about twenty miles distant from the harsh, starkly beautiful Dales his stories would make iconic to legions of tourists as 'Herriot Country'.

He entered into what would become a lifetime partnership with the eccentric, mercurial Donald Sinclair,[[note]] Not to be confused with hotel owner Donald Sinclair, who inspired the creation of ''Series/FawltyTowers''. [[/note]] later to be accurately immortalised as Siegfried Farnon. Donald's equally unique younger brother/perpetual student Brian would feature as Siegfried's ditto Tristan, ''aka'' the light comic relief, along with various assistants. Notable among these latter would be Brian Nettleton, 't'vet w' t'badger', later to be fictionalised as 'Calum Buchanan' for the book ''Every Living Thing'' and the [[Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall1978 TV series.]] In addition, Wight was often posted to assist other local practices in the Dales themselves, learning to love both the scenery and a host of other richly comic local characters. Also playing a prominent role in both Wight's life and fiction were his wife Joan ''nee'' Danbury (''aka'' 'Helen Alderson') and their children, Jimmy (born 1943) and Rosie (born 1947). Jimmy went into veterinary medicine, while Rosie became a general practitioner.

Wight enlisted in the Royal Air Force in late 1942, while Joan was pregnant with Jimmy. He qualified for solo flight, but was discharged after one year because he had been classified as medically unfit to fly combat aircraft as a result of surgery.

He had always been interested in writing, but success came late. The legend goes that over the many years as a practicing vet, Wight would frequently tell his family stories about his cases and the characters involved, invariably winding up with the declaration that 'That'll go in my book someday...' Twenty years on, his wife finally called him on it, insisting that "old vets of fifty don't suddenly start writing books!" Thus inspired, Wight picked a pen name (since using his own might have been viewed as advertising for his own services, which was frowned on by professional etiquette at the time) and hit the typewriter. By 1970 ''If Only They Could Talk'' was published in the UK to... not much acclaim. Neither was the sequel, ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet''.

The Herriot phenomenon didn't really take off until two years later, when the two books were combined for the American market (since the individual UK volumes were considered too short) into ''All Creatures Great and Small''. It was swiftly followed by:

* ''Let Sleeping Vets Lie''
* ''Vet in Harness'' (last two combined as ''All Things Bright and Beautiful'' for the US, 1974)
* ''Vets Might Fly''
* ''Vet in a Spin'' (last two combined as ''All Things Wise and Wonderful'' for the US, 1977)
* ''The Lord God Made Them All'' (1981)
* ''Every Living Thing'' (his last original work, 1991)

In 1979 a nonfiction companion volume, ''James Herriot's Yorkshire'', fleshed out the world of the books in detail.

The books were an immediate and extraordinary sensation in the US, shooting to the top of every best-seller list and earning gushes like 'masterpiece' and 'modern classic' from a besotted media and public alike -- heady stuff for a man who was by all accounts a quiet, pleasant, very ordinary bloke who just happened to have the true storyteller's gift. Written with deceptive simplicity and unerring comic timing, the Herriot stories are remarkable for their sincere but sentiment-free appreciation for life -- both animal ''and'' human -- within a setting fundamental enough to be universally nostalgic. Collectively, they also represent a fascinating record of the veterinary profession before, during and after modernization (when Wight first qualified antibiotics were nonexistent and profitable small-animal surgery a distant dream).

Wight -- and later his family -- have always insisted that all his stories were based in fact, albeit some much more distantly than others, and there is no reason to doubt them. However, as a private man with no wish to incur the wrath of the people he still lived and worked among, Wight ''did'' deliberately set out to ensure none of his subjects would be recognised, or recognise themselves. To that end he freely adapted stories from colleagues, consolidated incidents, changed names and places (occasionally even swapping genders), and mucked about with timelines. It is probably simplest to regard the end product as fiction that was VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. All the playing fast and loose with reality, however, is merely window dressing to a series of books that capture the heart of veterinary medicine in all its messy, bloody, based-on-guesswork-and-a-bit-of-luck glory.

A [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] was inevitable, and in 1974 ''All Creatures Great and Small'' was produced, starring Creator/SimonWard as James Herriot and Creator/AnthonyHopkins as Siegfried Farnon. A [[Creator/TheBBC BBC One]] [[Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall1978 series of the same name]], originally airing from 1978–80 (and later revived from 1988–90), proved a much bigger hit, eventually becoming a classic in the UK and making its stars Christopher Timothy (as James), Creator/RobertHardy (as Siegfried), and Creator/PeterDavison (as Tristan) into HouseholdNames. ''Young James Herriot'', a three-part miniseries covering his student years in the 1930s with the looming threat of fascism casting a shadow, aired in 2012. In 2020, Creator/Channel5 launched yet another adaptation, ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall2020'', starring British acting stalwart Creator/SamuelWest as Siegfried Farnon, gifted veteran actress Creator/AnnaMadeley as Mrs Hall, and newcomer Nicholas Ralph as Herriot.

Meanwhile Wight, along with partner and assistants, was trying to cope with an explosively popular veterinary practice that involved about 10% actually sick animals; the other 90% were eager pilgrims clutching books to be signed or pets to be appreciated. Through it all -- and probably adding to it -- the centre of this tourist storm resolutely clung to his unassuming outlook and lifestyle, considering himself a working vet above all else. (One documentary crew, asking one of the 'local characters' for an interview, was told that they should talk t'vet instead, since "don't let it get about... but I've heard he's written a book!")

T'vet had in fact been admitted to the Order of the British Empire as of 1979, and various honourary doctorates, fellowships and memorial awards followed regularly over the years (including, of all things, an honourary presidency of the Sunderland Association Football Club). He retired in 1989 and passed his share of the practice to his son Jimmy. His death in 1995 occasioned a service at York Minster, and his cremated remains were scattered on Sutton Bank, a hill in North Yorkshire. The old practice, along with house and grounds, has since become [[http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org a historical attraction and veterinary museum.]]

Meanwhile, the veterinary practice he made famous still thrives as [[http://www.skeldalevets.co.uk/ Skeldale Veterinary Centre]], now located on the outskirts of Thirsk. Until 2021, the head veterinary surgeon was Peter Wright, who worked at the old practice with Donald Sinclair and Alf Wight while they were still practicing veterinary medicine; [[https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-yorkshire-vet-star-peter-wright-marks-end-of-an-era-as-he-leaves-famous-practice-3257379 he left for a practice that still does large animal work.]]

The books also [[TheRedStapler inspired countless students to pursue veterinary medicine]] -- both as veterinarians and as veterinary nurses -- in generations to come, leading to the familiar pre-vet (nursing) professor's admonition that "If you're here because you think it's like the Herriot books, think again!"[[note]]That professor was both right and wrong. The books don't exactly sugarcoat the often dull and exhausting reality of rural veterinary medicine; the very first story finds the young Herriot assisting at a cow's difficult delivery in the middle of the night, his arm up her vagina for hours in a primitive, ill-lit barn, all the while enduring a local busybody criticizing his every move and considering how different the situation is from the textbooks. He is frequently kicked, sprayed with unmentionable fluids, and generally subject to painful slapstick on a regular basis. On the other hand, Herriot also quite accurately portrayed the rush of ecstasy that comes from hitting on the correct diagnosis and administering lifesaving medicine just in the nick of time. Essentially, those who ignored that professor and made it through the exhausting, mind-numbing, brain-overloading courses of study needed to qualify did so because they discovered that the life wasn't nearly as glamorous as they thought and decided they wanted to do it anyway.[[/note]]
----

!!Tropes associated with Herriot's works:
* BittersweetEnding:
** In one chapter from ''The Lord God Made Them All'', Herriot takes up the cause of saving Amber, a stray dog from the local rescue, when he discovers she has a nasty variety of mange. He ultimately fails. Later on, veterinary medicine discovers a solution, but Herriot can't help remembering his unfortunate patient.
** One segment of ''Every Living Thing'' ends with Herriot having a bad day while still lamenting the fact that a dog passed on, followed shortly by his elderly owner, without Herriot so much as figuring out what the dog's mysterious illness was. However, as he says she must have thought he was a fool, his wife gives him a memento someone saved for him from the client's estate sale: a photo case containing pictures of him, Richard Armitage, and John Wayne, saying "My Favorite Men".
* EarnYourHappyEnding: In one story, local farmer Bert Kealey and James Herriot struggle to save a litter of piglets when their mother (the farmer's daughter's pig) doesn't give milk as she should. The process involves Herriot nearly getting caught in a snowstorm after attempting to hike to the snowed-off farm and Bert having to stick his hand up the pig's vagina repeatedly to get her to produce milk. However, the litter survives and grows into a fine group of pigs, relieving them of the burden of disappointing the little girl.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: The books are frequently self-deprecating about the author's own intellect and ability, with it being made pretty clear that Herriot sees himself as a competent vet but little more.
* TheIllegible: Herriot details events when Siegfried decided it would be a damn good idea to employ a practice manager/secretary to deal with routine admin and paperwork. The candidate is a terrifying spinster of a certain age, who glares balefully at the three vets and points out that they ''all'' have appalling handwriting which really needs to be improved, if they expect her to transcribe and type it for practice records. She then points at Siegfried Farnon, the practice owner, and tells him he has the worst handwriting of all.
* ImprovisedWeapon: In one story, Herriot's attempt to get a bull's semen goes wrong and he ends up smacking the animal with the A.V. to keep from being gored after being backed into a corner.
* MrMuffykins: Ruffles and Muffles Whithorn, described in ''The Lord God Made Them All''. Their owners spoil them rotten and use no discipline at all, resulting in the two dogs becoming very aggressive and making visits to their home a severe trial for the unlucky Dr. Herriot. When the male owner gets bitten by one of the follow-up dogs (also named Ruffles and Muffles), Herriot dares to hope that he might begin treating them properly.
* PassingJudgment: He noted that in daily practice as a country vet in Yorkshire, he could be driving between farms all day and see absolutely nothing else moving on the roads. But when all the cups of tea offered by hospitable farmers took their toll, and he pulled over to the side to urinate against a wall... a carload of ''nuns'' drew up and asked for directions to Whitby, which Herriot had to give while a large puddle was forming at his feet.
----