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https://theconversation.com/all-creatures-great-and-small-at-50-why-these-stories-about-a-country-vet-still-charm-today-182325>
"When Mum was pregnant with me, Dad bought her a paperback copy of James
Herriot’s
All Creatures Great and Small because it was an easy, pleasant
read. I read my mother’s Pan paperback copy, with its cover image of sheep,
farmers, and the vet’s vintage car, when I was growing up. We all watched the
BBC adaptation when it was on television. And when my son is a bit older, I’m
sure I’ll read the book to him or he’ll read it himself.
It is 50 years since All Creatures Great and Small was first published. In the
time since, more than 60 million copies of the semi-autobiographical series of
books about life as a vet in the 1930s and 40s Yorkshire Dales have been sold.
The books, eight in total were published in the UK, with some combined into
omnibus versions making six American books.
There have been two film and three television series adaptations of them (the
most recent British TV adaptation aired in Australia earlier this year). And
the 1940s house in Thirsk, Yorkshire, where Herriot (real name James Alfred
Wight) lived and worked is now a museum, attracting visitors from all over the
world.
What is the key to the books’ success? I think it is the combination of
humanity and humour in Herriot’s writing."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
