The Real James Herriot: The Authorized Biography Book

The name of Alf Wight may not ring too many bells, but as James Herriot--an author who brought the countryside into millions of homes--he certainly made an impressive mark. Wight grew up in Glasgow, enjoying a boisterous childhood before deciding to embark on many years of training at the Glasgow Veterinary College. He finally qualified as a vet in 1939 and moved to the Yorkshire town of Thirsk to accept a position as assistant vet to Donald Sinclair--the man known to millions as Siegfried Farnan.The story of the young vet travelling to Thirsk (aka Darrowby) was immortalised in Herriot's best selling books, bringing him further fame through television and film. But The Real James Herriot, Jim Wight's affectionate biography of his father, tells the story of the man behind the nom-de- plume who remained with the same practice for over 50 years and was relatively untouched and unimpressed by his fame as an author. Jim Wight, who followed in his father's footsteps and later joined the practice in Thirsk to work alongside him, is undoubtedly the best person to reveal the depths of a man whose public persona was as respected and trusted as the real man who tended animals in and around the small Yorkshire village where he lived and loved until the day he died. Written with a tenderness that does nothing to detract from the honesty of the book, The Real James Herriot is a fitting, poignant and often gently humorous portrait of a man who brought so much pleasure through his writing while remaining consistently faithful to the profession that was, ultimately, his first and last love. --Susan HarrisonRead More