It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet

James Herriot

02 July 2010
9780330518161
288 pages

Synopsis

From the author whose books inspired the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet is the second volume of James Herriot's classic memoirs; a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic and beauty of Britain’s wild places.

Lesson number one: When taking a cow’s temperature the old-fashioned way, never let go of the thermometer . . .


Now firmly ensconced in the sleepy Yorkshire village of Darrowby, recently qualified vet James Herriot has acclimatized to life with his unpredictable colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon. But veterinary practice in the 1930s was never going to be easy, and there are challenges on the horizon, from persuading his clients to let him use his ‘modern’ equipment, to becoming an uncle (to a pig called Nugent). Throw in his first encounters with Helen, the beautiful daughter of a local farmer, and this year looks to be as eventful as the last . . .

I grew up reading James Herriot's books and I'm delighted that thirty years on, they are still every bit as charming, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny as they were then.
He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious.
Full of warmth, wisdom and wit.